Getting Started with Clinical Decarbonization
This guide presents five steps to support health care organizations in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions from clinical care and describes structural enablers that are key to the success of such efforts.
Highlights
- Structural enablers to support clinical decarbonization improvement efforts
- 5 steps to get started with clinical decarbonization and ensure structural enablers are in place
- Making the business case for clinical decarbonization
The health care sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for 8.5 percent of total GHG emissions in the US. As anchors in their communities, hospitals and health systems can model sustainability best practices and affect broader change in their supply chains, local economies, and surrounding communities.
To test strategies and measures to advance decarbonization of clinical care, between 2022 and 2025 the Institute for Healthcare Improvement convened two initiatives that used quality improvement methods to learn from small-scale tests of change and achieve reductions in carbon-emitting activities. The learning from health care teams participating in both initiatives is incorporated into this guidance document, including structural enablers to support clinical decarbonization and detailed steps to get started.
How to Cite This Document: Sasso A, DeSmidt B, Sampath B, Bamel D, Tandon S. Getting Started with Clinical Decarbonization. Boston: Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2025. (Available at ihi.org)
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