Yale New Haven Health’s commitment to improving patient and community health includes mitigating adverse impacts on the environment. Both are essential to delivering safe, equitable care and promoting long-term community well-being, according to Dean Caruso, vice president, YNHH Support Services and Sustainability and Jodi Sherman, MD, medical director of Sustainability. Both lead the YNHHS Center for Sustainable Healthcare (C4SH).
“Integrating environmental sustainability into our operations allows us to do the right thing,” Caruso said. “Our sustainability objectives align with the healthcare sector’s duty of care and purpose to ‘do no harm.’ We’re trying to protect communities and the environment for current and future generations.”
C4SH leads the health system’s environmental sustainability strategy, which was relaunched in 2024 to ensure environmental stewardship is embedded into operations, culture and long-term planning. Key sustainability initiatives over the years include:
- Sustainable waste management: In fiscal year (FY) 2025, 146,000 pounds of food waste was composted, plus 11 percent of municipal solid waste was recycled. Those efforts reduced emissions equivalent to removing 29 gasoline-powered vehicles from the road for one year.
- Sustainable supply chain: Desflurane, an anesthetic with disproportionately high global warming potential, was eliminated from the YNHHS formulary in 2013 in favor of sevoflurane. YNHHS was the first health system in the world to eliminate desflurane and inspired international change. The resultant emissions savings that year from Yale New Haven Hospital alone were equivalent to removing 360 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles from the roads.
- Transitioning to cleaner energy: Through strategic investment in efficient fuel cell systems and purchasing solar power, YNHHS is adopting cleaner energy and reducing reliance on conventional grid electricity, strengthening energy resilience.
- Greenhouse gas emissions tracking: C4SH continues to measure emissions from key greenhouse gas sources within the health system and is developing emissions reduction plans.
