Environmental Sustainability Competitions: Engaging Healthcare Staff in Sustainable and Financially Beneficial Initiatives
Clinical care is a major source of healthcare’s greenhouse gases. Health service professionals have a role in reducing this impact through adopting low-carbon models of care and addressing low-value care. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of an environmental sustainability competition in en...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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ACHSM
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management |
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| Online Access: | https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4191 |
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| author | Sonia Chanchlani Jenny Shi Jacqueline Allman Monika Page Gily Purushothaman Vanessa O’Shaughnessy Rajesh Manihar Eugenie Kayak Ben Dunne |
| author_facet | Sonia Chanchlani Jenny Shi Jacqueline Allman Monika Page Gily Purushothaman Vanessa O’Shaughnessy Rajesh Manihar Eugenie Kayak Ben Dunne |
| author_sort | Sonia Chanchlani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Clinical care is a major source of healthcare’s greenhouse gases. Health service professionals have a role in reducing this impact through adopting low-carbon models of care and addressing low-value care. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of an environmental sustainability competition in engaging staff to lead sustainable and financially beneficial quality improvement projects.
In 2022, the Royal Melbourne Hospital launched an environmental sustainability competition open to all staff. In 2023, it expanded to include Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Women’s Hospital, with resources and support from the University of Melbourne. Participant surveys provided feedback and assessed the value of provided resources.
In 2022, 13 projects prevented 2.5 million kg CO2 equivalent emissions (CO2e) and diverted 250,000 items from landfill, with an added financial benefit of approximately $500,000. In 2023, 17 projects resulted in preventing 140,000 kg CO2e, emissions and 3,000 kg of waste, while saving $160,000. Sustained 2022 projects resulted in a cumulative savings of $800,000. Participants valued the resources and were motivated to continue initiatives but suggested formal sustainability education to enhance future projects.
Competitions effectively engaged staff in sustainable healthcare, yielding significant environmental and financial savings. Enhanced resources and education may further improve engagement and outcomes.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b0d3db769182427c811c97120bfbbe99 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1833-3818 2204-3136 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | ACHSM |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-b0d3db769182427c811c97120bfbbe992025-08-25T01:10:31ZengACHSMAsia Pacific Journal of Health Management1833-38182204-31362025-08-01Environmental Sustainability Competitions: Engaging Healthcare Staff in Sustainable and Financially Beneficial InitiativesSonia Chanchlani0Jenny Shi1Jacqueline Allman2 Monika Page3Gily Purushothaman4Vanessa O’Shaughnessy5Rajesh Manihar6Eugenie Kayak7Ben Dunne 8Department of Critical Care, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, AustraliaDepartment of Critical Care, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, AustraliaRoyal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, AustraliaRoyal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, AustraliaPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, AustraliaPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, AustraliaRoyal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Department of Critical Care, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, AustraliaDepartment of Critical Care, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Clinical care is a major source of healthcare’s greenhouse gases. Health service professionals have a role in reducing this impact through adopting low-carbon models of care and addressing low-value care. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of an environmental sustainability competition in engaging staff to lead sustainable and financially beneficial quality improvement projects. In 2022, the Royal Melbourne Hospital launched an environmental sustainability competition open to all staff. In 2023, it expanded to include Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Women’s Hospital, with resources and support from the University of Melbourne. Participant surveys provided feedback and assessed the value of provided resources. In 2022, 13 projects prevented 2.5 million kg CO2 equivalent emissions (CO2e) and diverted 250,000 items from landfill, with an added financial benefit of approximately $500,000. In 2023, 17 projects resulted in preventing 140,000 kg CO2e, emissions and 3,000 kg of waste, while saving $160,000. Sustained 2022 projects resulted in a cumulative savings of $800,000. Participants valued the resources and were motivated to continue initiatives but suggested formal sustainability education to enhance future projects. Competitions effectively engaged staff in sustainable healthcare, yielding significant environmental and financial savings. Enhanced resources and education may further improve engagement and outcomes. https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4191sustainabilityenvironmental sustainabilityhealthcaremanagementengagementSusQI |
| spellingShingle | Sonia Chanchlani Jenny Shi Jacqueline Allman Monika Page Gily Purushothaman Vanessa O’Shaughnessy Rajesh Manihar Eugenie Kayak Ben Dunne Environmental Sustainability Competitions: Engaging Healthcare Staff in Sustainable and Financially Beneficial Initiatives Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management sustainability environmental sustainability healthcare management engagement SusQI |
| title | Environmental Sustainability Competitions: Engaging Healthcare Staff in Sustainable and Financially Beneficial Initiatives |
| title_full | Environmental Sustainability Competitions: Engaging Healthcare Staff in Sustainable and Financially Beneficial Initiatives |
| title_fullStr | Environmental Sustainability Competitions: Engaging Healthcare Staff in Sustainable and Financially Beneficial Initiatives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental Sustainability Competitions: Engaging Healthcare Staff in Sustainable and Financially Beneficial Initiatives |
| title_short | Environmental Sustainability Competitions: Engaging Healthcare Staff in Sustainable and Financially Beneficial Initiatives |
| title_sort | environmental sustainability competitions engaging healthcare staff in sustainable and financially beneficial initiatives |
| topic | sustainability environmental sustainability healthcare management engagement SusQI |
| url | https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4191 |
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