Energy - Medxcel

FY17 Environmental Stewardship Program Report

Healthcare Without Waste

Leadership

Integrating sustainability into organizational strategy
Education & Communication

Creating awareness; improving adoption and practices and sharing success stories
Energy

Helping hospitals reduce costs and protect scarce resources
Water

Decreasing the strain on municipal water supplies and reducing energy needed to treat and deliver water
Green Buildings / Operations & Maintenance / Transportation

Green construction, operations and maintenance of healthcare facilities; vehicles; landscaping; and site water management
Safer Chemicals

Reducing exposure to chemicals in order to “first do no harm”
Food Systems

Increasing health and safety in food service while decreasing waste and use of non-therapeutic antibiotics in meat and poultry products
Environmentally Preferred Purchasing

Purchasing products that are durable, efficient and cost-effective, while reducing the hospital’s environmental impact
Waste Management & Reduction

Reducing waste while increasing recycling and donations, safely

Ascension Reaches Energy Savings Goal Three Years Early

In 2011, when Ascension joined 60 founding members in the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge to reduce energy consumption, the ministry included 68 acute care facilities encompassing 30 million square feet of space. Ascension was one of two health systems originally involved in the challenge, and set a bold goal to reduce energy use by 20 percent by 2020. Ascension’s efforts were rewarded in December 2016 when it reached its Better Buildings Challenge goal of 20 percent energy reduction more than three years ahead of schedule. Ascension has reduced energy use by 21.4 percent, yielding a total cost avoidance of $53.3 million and carbon dioxide emission avoidance of 1,114,600 tons. The calculated percentage takes into account both new facilities and those that are no longer part of Ascension.

LED Lights are a Bright Idea

According to the Better Buildings Alliance, lighting accounts for roughly 20 percent of the electricity use in a typical commercial building. Imagine cutting the energy consumption rate for lighting in half while increasing safety. That’s what Ascension is doing thanks to collaboration among Medxcel Facilities Management and Planning, Design and Construction, The Resource Group, and Grainger Lighting Solutions & Energy Lighting Services.

Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Retrofits Funded through Medxcel

Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing (MEP) and building infrastructure retrofits to improve cost effectiveness, comfort and regulatory compliance are funded through the Medxcel Facilities Management Capital Pool and the Energy Conservation Pool. Notable projects in FY17 included: