Glossary for the Sustainability Roadmap for Health Care

Understand the basics of health care sustainability starting with this glossary of terms.

Sustainability Roadmap for Health Care
Sustainability for Health Care Facilities Glossary HealQuestTM
    • Credits purchased from low- or zero-emissions electricity providers by paying for emissions reductions.
    • A measure of the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted by an organization, individual or country due to the consumption of fossil fuels.
    • The removal of more carbon dioxide equivalents than those produced.
    • A status achieved when an organization’s carbon dioxide equivalent emissions are equal to the amount removed from the atmosphere, either through that organization’s efforts or offset to make overall emissions zero.
    • In addition to energy consumption (scope 1 and 2 emissions), carbon neutrality includes emissions beyond the entity's direct control (scope 3 emissions).
    • The production of sustainable energy to counterbalance the use of fossil fuels.
    • A state wherein carbon dioxide equivalent emissions are not being produced.
    • The effort to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and integrated into strategies and planning.
    • The process to phase out carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, in the form of both operational and embodied carbon.
    • Encompasses removing carbon from the process chain as well as carbon released from producing building materials.
    • The process of replacing technologies that use fossil fuels with technologies that use electricity as a source of energy.
    • The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal of purchased products/materials.
    • Includes indirect emissions, such as construction materials.
    • A framework used by organizations to define organizational strategy and report performance to stakeholders.
    • Recognizes that sustainability goes beyond environmental issues.
    • The measure of how destructive a climate pollutant is. The GWP of a gas refers to the total contribution to global warming resulting from the emission of one unit of that gas relative to one unit of the reference gas, CO2, which is assigned a value of 1.
    • A widely accepted metric for accounting and reporting emissions. The protocol classifies emissions as scope 1, 2 or 3:
      • Scope 1: Direct emissions. Emissions emanating directly from health care facilities and health care-owned vehicles.
      • Scope 2: Indirect emissions. Indirect emissions from purchased energy sources such as electricity, steam, cooling and heating.
      • Scope 3: The lion’s share of emissions derived from the health care supply chain through the production, transport and disposal of goods and services, such as pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, food and agricultural products, medical devices, hospital equipment and instruments.
    • A state achieved when an entity achieves balance between emissions produced and removed from the atmosphere.
    • When describing a building, it means the building generates as much energy as it uses.
    • Not the same as “carbon neutral.”
    • The greenhouse gas emissions associated with daily operations.
    • Includes direct and indirect emissions. For example:
      • Building energy consumption.
      • Anesthetic gases.
      • Refrigerants on-site.
      • Staff commuting.
      • Business travel.
    • The capacity of a system to maintain function in the face of complex hazards that challenge accepted baseline assumptions for infrastructure capabilities, redundancies and disaster preparedness and response.
    • In health care, refers to the integration of environmental stewardship, social equity and fiduciary responsibility in health care organizations to support healthy, equitable and resilient environments and communities maintained over time.
    • Based on a simple principle: Everything that humans need for their survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on the natural environment.
    • To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.