At Sharp HealthCare, we are committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040.
Sharp’s vision for a healthy environment
The health of the planet is integral to our health and quality of life. At Sharp HealthCare, we are committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040. Health care organizations have a significant impact on the environment — the availability of continuous care, building requirements for heat and humidity, supply chain needs, multiple waste streams, food use and more. Through our initiative called All Ways Green™, we continue to invest in innovative, socially responsible, sustainability projects and transform work practices to reduce our impact on the environment.
By reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we support our core mission to improve health. Our commitment to the environment aligns with the vision of The Sharp Experience to be the best place to work, practice medicine and receive care. We aim to become the most sustainable health care system in the universe, and we start here in San Diego.
At Sharp, we continue to invest in building and lighting systems improvements to reduce energy and water use. We collaborate with vendors to limit packaging, increase recycle rates, and provide effective cleaning products that are healthier for the environment. We were the first health care system in San Diego to install electric vehicle chargers and plan to triple our footprint for EV charging. We were also the first system to compost food from our hospital kitchens. We take pride in our commitment to ensuring the food we purchase is locally sourced and organic, whenever possible.
Sharp has received many awards for our sustainability efforts — but we don’t do any of this for the accolades, we do it for our future.
Sharp’s Environmental Health, Wellness and Sustainability Plan is organized around eight core topics:
At Sharp, we encourage access to healthy lifestyle choices and practice responsible food purchasing, consumption and production through:
On-site garden and farms to provide produce for food service and donations to food insecure communities
Patient, visitor and employee menus focused on Mediterranean and longevity-based diets
Community programs to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition
Offer vegan and plant-based menu options in our cafeterias
Purchasing ingredients that are raised without antibiotics, locally sourced and hormone-free
Using imperfect produce
Food composting and oil recycling
As part of our goal to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption, we’ve implemented the following energy conservation initiatives:
Electric vehicle charging stations
Lighting retrofits
Pipe insulations
Infrastructure control initiatives
Occupancy sensor installation
Energy audits
Elevator modernizations
Energy-efficient motor and pump replacements
Thermostat control software and temperature set-point projects
In an effort to conserve water, we have made the following changes to ensure our facilities are operating optimally:
Installation of water reduction systems
Drought-tolerant landscaping
Electronic low-flow faucets
Mist eliminators
Filtered water dispensers to reduce plastic water bottles
Installation of water-efficient dishwashers and chemical dispensing systems
Regular rounding to identify leaks
We support green and health hospital design and construction through:
High-performance windows that allow for natural light and reduction of energy loss
High-efficiency LED lighting
Energy-efficient air and water systems
Locally sourced construction materials whenever possible
Approximately 90% of construction labor team members live in the region
Limiting job site noise and odors through careful selection of roofing and waterproofing products
As an early adopter in the commitment to waste diversion, all Sharp facilities now divert more than 40% of waste through recycling, donating, composting, reprocessing and reusing programs. These efforts include:
Recycling of construction debris, electronic and pharmaceutical waste
Partnership with Ssubi Is Hope, a nonprofit organization that collects donated, expired and unusable medical equipment to support a health center in rural Uganda
Systemwide single-waste stream recycling program
Surgical instrument reprocessing
We aim to buy safer and more sustainable products and materials such as:
Recyclable curtains
Microfiber mops
Post-consumer recycled packaging solutions
Energy-efficient kitchen and café appliances, chillers and motors
Sharp has partnered with SANDAG, San Diego's primary transportation agency, to encourage employees to find commuter solutions such as ridesharing, alternate transportation and more. In addition, we offers our employees:
Travel discounts on transportation
Commuter solutions resources
E-charging stations
We substitute harmful chemicals with safer alternatives such as:
Green label cleaning products
High-filtration vacuum cleaners
Auto-scrubbing machines that only use water
Microfiber technology
Ultraviolet light disinfection
Highlights: Goals and progress
Sharp's energy initiatives have reduced the system's carbon footprint equal to the removal of almost 18,000 metric tons of CO2 each year
Our waste minimization efforts combined have resulted in more than 4,700 tons of waste diverted from the landfill
