Stanford Medicine earns environmental awards

Stanford Medicine has earned six awards from Practice Greenhealth, a nonprofit organization that guides health care organizations in achieving sustainable practices.

Stanford Hospital, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley and the Stanford Medicine outpatient center in Redwood City all received awards for decarbonizing health care and protecting the environment.

“Supporting the health of our planet isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s critical to our mission of improving health in our communities and around the globe,” said David Entwistle, president and CEO of Stanford Health Care. “We are committed to prioritizing sustainability in our operations and collaborating across the health care industry to reduce our environmental footprint. We’re proud to be recognized by Practice Greenhealth for our ongoing efforts, and we look forward to continuing this important work.”

Paul King, president and CEO of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, added, “Public health decisions have to be based on the realities of climate change, and we all need to do more to make that happen. It’s why I am proud to see the work happening at Stanford Medicine ensures the health of our patients and accounts for the health of our planet.”

Stanford Medicine received two Circle of Excellence awards: Packard Children’s was named a Green Building Circle honoree, while Stanford Health Care was named a Leadership Circle honoree. Both organizations also earned a Greenhealth Emerald Award, reserved for the top 20% of applicants. These honors are reserved for the top 10 performers for that award category.

Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley and Stanford Medicine’s Redwood City outpatient clinic each earned a Greenhealth Partner for Change Award, which is given for excellence in environmental sustainability.

“We are thankful to have our work recognized alongside the top performers in health care sustainability,” said Christy Foster, director of sustainability for Stanford Children’s. “We have learned so much from those who are ahead of us, and we hope to be a model for other organizations that are earlier their sustainability journey.”  

Practice Greenhealth promotes sustainable practices for health care organizations — including hospitals, health systems, architectural firms, manufacturers and academic institutions — in the United States and Canada. It offers data and technical support for design and practices that protect the environment.

2023 is the seventh consecutive year that Stanford Medicine has received awards from Practice Greenhealth.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by Practice Greenhealth for our sustainability achievements,” said Helen Wilmot, Stanford Health Care’s chief facilities and sustainability officer. “We are excited for the next phase of fully integrating sustainability in our everyday clinical practice choices. All of us are called to consider the climate impacts of each decision we make as Stanford employees and as citizens of the world.”