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Opportunity

Facility decarbonization presents a range of opportunities and benefits to hospitals in addition to meeting regulatory obligations. Energy efficiency increases both patient safety and care quality¹. Advanced control technologies contribute to leaner operations, reduced utility consumption, and lower operating costs. Resilience measures provide critical life safety backup in emergency situations. Viewed in this light, decarbonization mandates represent more than just compliance obligations, they represent real opportunities to improve your facility’s infrastructure, as well as institute new operational best practices for the benefit of your patients, employees, stakeholders, and community. There are genuine financial opportunities to be seized has well. According to the EPA, every dollar in revenue that a nonprofit hospital saves on energy is equivalent to generating $20 in new revenues. For-profit hospitals can raise their earnings a penny per share by reducing energy costs just 5 percent.²

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Why It's Important to Act Now

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the climate change that results from their release pose an imminent threat to the health and well-being of our communities, our state, and the global environment.

Hospitals and other healthcare-related buildings are currently responsible for 8.5% of all carbon emissions in the US, and 4.4% of all carbon emissions worldwide³. They are the second largest consumer of energy per unit of floor area, second only to food services4. Hospital HVAC and water heating systems are the primary contributors to their facility emission profiles5.

Hospitals must begin to upgrade their systems with solutions that reduce emissions and conserve energy, while still retaining the operational reliability and resiliency that is crucial to high quality of care and optimal patient outcomes.

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“Decarbonization” Means Different Things to Different Industries & Market Sectors

In the building industry, decarbonization refers to two different types of carbon emissions. The first type is “operational carbon” which refers to the GHGs that are emitted as a result of the the day-to-day operation of the facility. The second type is so-called “embodied carbon” which refers to the GHGs emitted during the production of the construction materials that make up the buildings themselves (concrete, steel, insulation). At this time, the guide will only concern itself with reducing the first type of carbon — operational carbon. However, additional resources on embodied carbon can be found here and will be incorporated at a later date.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies carbon emissions somewhat differently. GHG emissions that emanate from the facility as a result of the burning or consumption of fossil fuels are what the EPA calls “Scope 1” emissions. GHG emissions that result from the consumption of fossil fuels by off-site utilities are known as “Scope 2”. Emissions related to equipment or materials that are received from suppliers, or that arise from other aspects of your hospital’s value chain are known as “Scope 3”.

This guide concerns itself only with Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, the two types of emissions that a facility manager can directly control, either through on-site changes to hospital facilities or energy conservation measures (though Scope 3 emissions of remain a concern).

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Making Impossible Achievable

In the building industry, decarbonization refers to two different types of carbon emissions. The first type is “operational carbon” which refers to the GHGs that are emitted as a result of the the day-to-day operation of the facility. The second type is so-called “embodied carbon” which refers to the GHGs emitted during the production of the construction materials that make up the buildings themselves (concrete, steel, insulation). This guide will only concern itself with reducing the first type of carbon — operational carbon.Opportunity Boiler

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies carbon emissions somewhat differently. GHG emissions that emanate from the facility as a result of the burning or consumption of fossil fuels are what the EPA calls “Scope 1” emissions. GHG emissions that result from the consumption of fossil fuels by off-site utilities are known as “Scope 2”. Emissions related to equipment or materials that are received from suppliers, or that arise from other aspects of your hospital’s value chain are known as “Scope 3”.

This guide concerns itself only with Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, the two types of emissions that a facility manager can directly control, either through on-site changes to hospital facilities or energy conservation measures (though Scope 3 emissions of remain a concern).

Confronted with a Task of Such Scale & Magnitude,
It Can Be Easy to Feel Overwhelmed.

The best way to start the process of resilient decarbonization is by taking the first few steps forward. At your facility, those first steps might be simple, common-sense energy-saving tactics like upgraded light fixtures or higher-efficiency equipment.

Get a few of these quick-and-easy wins behind you, and what seemed impossible suddenly feels achievable. Remember: you don’t have to have all the answers right away. The most important thing you can do right now is get started.

Welcome to The New York Healthcare Decarbonization Guide.This guide is the primary resource of the New York Healthcare Protocol (NYHP), an ongoing public/private collaboration by more than 80 organizations, all of whom have contributed time, energy and expertise toward the development of this guide. The guide will aid hospitals in New York State and beyond with their decarbonization efforts. It provides first-steps assistance and technical guidance to hospitals preparing to meet climate goals as set forth in New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), also known as The Climate Act. That Act, which was passed into law in 2019, mandates that Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in New York State be reduced to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, and 85% below 1990 levels by 2050 1. In the wake of The Climate Act, other local legislation has been enacted, including New York City’s Local Law 97. Federal legislation is expected to follow in the near future 2. In anticipation of these new laws, an increasing number of hospitals around New York State are getting serious about strategically reducing their carbon emissions.This guide was created to support facility directors and other hospital staff in those decarbonization efforts. It contains tools and resources that will help hospital personnel to evaluate the current state of their facilities, develop an overall decarbonization strategy, identify and prioritize individual decarbonization projects, and secure the funding needed to cost-effectively complete them.This guide will help hospitals of all types and of all sizes, those with abundant resources and those without, to navigate the decarbonization process while also realizing their resiliency goals. It will be especially helpful to hospitals that are just beginning their decarbonization journey, however even hospitals in the midst of a decarbonization initiative may find it useful and informative.DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent official policy or views of the Decarbonization with Resilience Steering Committee or any of its partner organizations or contributors. For more information on the laws and regulations governing your facility improvement projects, please refer to New York State and local government resources.1 State of New York Official Website, https://climate.ny.gov2 The White House Official Website, https://www.whitehouse.gov/climate/ Get Started

1U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy https://www.energy.gov
2U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.energystar.gov
3Stat News, Oct. 27, 2022, http://www.statnews.com
4Health Facilities Magazine, August 2, 2017, http://www.hfmmagazine.com
5U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Integrating Health & Efficiency in Healthcare Facilities, June 2021

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