Sustainable healthcare design

Abstract

Purpose Healthcare projects face multiple obstacles in achieving sustainability. This paper aims to provide information regarding the energy consumption of healthcare facilities, to identify barriers to sustainability and to suggest methods to improve the effectiveness of these buildings. Design/methodology/approach This study investigates sustainability in healthcare buildings by examining national databases about energy use and energy savings. The authors then initiate a dialogue on this topic by interviewing experts in healthcare planning and design regarding the implications of this data, challenges to sustainability and potential solutions to these challenges. Findings An analysis of data from the Energy Information Administration revealed that healthcare facilities rank second among building types in the USA in energy use per square foot and rank fourth in total energy use. Data from the US Green Building Council showed that only 1 per cent of healthcare buildings are registered with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, and 0.4 per cent have achieved certification, which is low compared with other building types. Research limitations/implications Research and discussion must continue engaging all stakeholders to interpret the data and identify transformative solutions to facilitate sustainable healthcare design construction and operation. Practical implications It is important to approach sustainability in healthcare from social, economic, environmental and health-related perspectives. The authors identify five major barriers to sustainable healthcare design and construction and discuss 12 practical solutions. Originality/value Given the energy demands of healthcare buildings, facilitating their sustainability has the potential to make a significant difference in national energy use. Empirical research and evidence-based design can potentially help to accelerate sustainability by clarifying impacts and documenting the economic and operational returns on investment.

Hospitals management transformative initiatives; towards energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in healthcare facilities

“…The second perspective supports green operations based on environmental practices; in this regard, Sarkis (2017) proposed the concept of greener manufacturing and operations with ecological tools such as designing for the environment, green supply chains, total quality environmental management and reverse logistics. Previous studies of green health care have investigated different issues arising from practice; some of these studies have investigated factors affecting the implementation of environmental sustainability, such as leadership (Chiarini and Vagnoni, 2016) or barriers to JEDT 21,2 health-care waste management and strategies and tactics adopted to surmount them (Thakur and Anbanandam, 2016) or the energy consumed by health-care facilities (Sagha Zadeh et al, 2016). Other studies have investigated the management of green health-care supply chains, for example: evaluating the environmental performance of health-care suppliers (Malik et al, 2016); investigating the challenges of implementing green public procurement in the public health sector (Ahsan and Rahman, 2017); proposing a new multiobjective mathematical model in a pharmaceutical supply chain for responding to natural disasters considering quality and green concepts (Sagha Zadeh et al, 2016); and learning about green supply chain practices for health-care systems (Balan and Conlon, 2018).…”

“…Environmental quality has been acknowledged as the primary criterion in choosing health-care buildings (Kim and Osmond, 2014). Health-care facilities use more energy per square foot than any other type of buildings in the USA, and they rank fourth in their total energy use (Sagha Zadeh et al , 2016). Health-care greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) emissions are expected to grow over time; in the USA, emissions increased more than 30% over the past decade (Eckelman and Sherman, 2016).…”

Big Data-Enabled Solutions Framework to Overcoming the Barriers to Circular Economy Initiatives in Healthcare Sector

“…Capacity building [24,[29][30][31]44,46,49,[52][53][54][55] B28 Complexity of circularity in healthcare systems [22,47]…”

“…as operational and technology barriers towards CE adoption, is among the most frequently mentioned barriers in the literature [24]. In addition, the size and complexity of circularity in healthcare systems are considered as another major barrier that inhibits the improvement of green and circular healthcare systems [22]. Furthermore, the absence of suitable infrastructure is another crucial barrier for safe management of the healthcare waste disposal systems [5,[16][17][18], and also lack of recycling options for medical devices and equipment in terms of their reusability and end-of-life cycle, causing detrimental effects on the environment.…”

Modeling Environmental Actions of Corporate Sustainable Activity: Evidence from Lithuania

“…Environmental elements also have a significant impact on other components of sustainable development: the social and economic situation in the company. The choice of resource type, the qualitative and quantitative use of energy clearly affects not only the environmental but also other components of sustainable development mentioned (Zadeh et al, 2016). It has been mentioned that it is difficult for businesses to find a strategic solution for all the results of the actions envisaged in the model, as the implementation of these measures is often foreseeable for a long time and requires considerable cost.…”