Environmental Sustainability

South Shore Health is committed to energy conservation, waste reduction, and consciously cleaner healthcare.

seagulls

At South Shore Health, we know our environment impacts all of our health and wellness, and we’re committed to ecologically responsible healthcare practices. 

Hospitals consume a large amount of energy and use many materials that contribute to increased waste and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, it is estimated the healthcare industry produces around 5% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions.      

South Shore Health's sustainability initiatives are strategies that aim to improve the environmental, social, and economic impacts of our healthcare organization. They include energy efficiency, waste reduction, and improved services and models of care. Our sustainability initiatives will help the environment, but their impacts are far reaching. They will also reduce operational costs, enhance our community's health, and increase our organization's resilience.

 

Read about the specifics of our sustainability efforts in the tabs below. 

Energy Efficiency and Fuel Combustion

  • LED lighting upgrades at off-site locations.
  • LED lighting upgrades at South Shore Hospital.
  • Replacement of a chiller and transformer at 55 Fogg Road.
  • In process of installing lighting timers and motion sensors in areas not used 24/7. 

Anesthetic Gas Usage

  • Annual review of medical gas system for leaks and exhaust issues.
  • Significantly reduced desflurane use and removed desflurane vaporizers from all of the anesthesia machines at South Shore Hospital.
  • Waste anesthetic gas monitoring to assess staff safety and identify opportunities for process improvement to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Waste Disposal and Recycling

  • Stryker equipment reprocessing; energy devices and laparoscopic equipment, pulse oximeter, ECG leads and cables, and hover mat.
  • Change in medical and pharmaceutical waste vendor resulted in consolidated truck shipments.
  • Reusable totes for delivered medical supplies and containers for the collection of sharps, pharmaceuticals, and regulated medical waste.
  • Recycling; cardboard, batteries, lightbulbs, scrap metal, waste grease, shipping pallets, and electronic equipment.
  • Donated 311 used IV poles to a non-profit organization collecting surplus medical equipment and supplies and distributing them globally, diverting metal and plastic away from a landfill.  

Miscellaneous On-site Opportunities

  • Recycling kitchen food waste, launched January 2025. In the first month, 11.87 tons, (23,730 pounds) of food waste were diverted to a biofuel company instead of a landfill. 
  • Replacing 5-gallon water coolers with piped systems when possible.
  • Increased usage of virtual desktops and decreased the quantity of printers, thus reducing ink cartridges and paper use.

Utility Programs

  • Utility Programs including purchased grid electricity, steam, chilled and hot water, and more are under review for sustainability opportunities. 

Other

  • At least one building LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified
  • Increased number of employees working remote full-time and part-time, thus decreasing the number of cars commuting and the utility usage by SSH facilities.

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