Baptist Health South Florida is focused on improving the health and well-being of our community, and that includes a responsibility to the environment. Our investments in sustainability initiatives support the commitment we make to provide the highest quality of care for our patients and families.
Sustainable Today, Healthier Tomorrow
The health of the environment is central to healthy communities. Every action we take to improve sustainability within our organization and community circles back to that simple, yet profoundly true, statement. At Baptist Health, we are committed to supporting environmental, economic, and social resilience within our facilities, and in the communities we serve.
Our Approach
Using the latest environmentally friendly measures and best practices to reduce our carbon footprint and lessen the environmental impact in our community, Baptist Health is working to reduce energy consumption and air pollution, conserve water, cut down on waste, and engage our staff and members of the communities we serve in our sustainability journey. Environmental sustainability is integral to our operations. Our sustainability approach is comprised of five pillars: Construction and Facilities, Non-Clinical Operations, Clinical Operations, Staff and Community Engagement, and Supply Chain.
Construction and Facilities
Baptist Health has long been a leader among healthcare institutions in South Florida for sustainable design and construction practices. Our West Kendall Baptist Hospital, opened in 2011, was one of the first LEED Gold-certified hospitals in Florida. This includes building facilities that take advantage of natural light and using sustainable building supplies and materials.
To date, we’ve built more than 1.2 million square feet of high-performing, LEED-certified facilities that feature sustainable elements such as roofing designed to reduce the effects of heat, high-efficiency building equipment, furniture made from high-recycled content, low-emitting paints, carpets and other efficiency and sustainability measures. Our list of projects to date includes:
- West Kendall Baptist Hospital
- Consolidated Distribution Service Center
- Baptist Hospital – Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute Expansion
- South Miami Hospital Clinical Expansion
- Baptist Medical Plaza at Davie
- Baptist Medical Plaza at Brickell
- Baptist Medical Plaza at Pembroke
- Baptist Medical Plaza at Coral Gables
- Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute
- South Miami Hospital Pavilion Renovation
- Doctors Hospital - Enabling Project
- Baptist Health Clark Pavilion 5th Floor Buildout
All of our new construction and renovation projects focus on creating efficiently run buildings that meet the latest energy codes as well as ASHRAE 90.1 standards. This includes energy efficient chiller systems, recycling and reusing construction materials and mitigating habitat loss by relocating trees and ponds during construction.
Looking forward, Baptist Health is embarking on a multimillion-dollar project to better manage energy usage and implement changes that will enhance our environmental programs throughout South Florida. This includes comprehensive, portfolio-wide benchmarking for utility use and centralized building control and automation stations at each hospital. Preliminary results from this program are promising – we successfully reduced our annual electricity consumption by over 614,000 kWh from 2022 to 2023!
Non-Clinical Operations
We are continuously working to source sustainable products, as well as reduce and recycle materials throughout the organization.
- Waste Management – In 2023, we achieved a system-wide average recycling rate of 16%, diverting over 13,000 tons of recyclable materials from becoming landfilled waste. We are exploring innovative approaches to further reducing waste by streamlining our printing operations, implementing composting in our hospital kitchens, and right sizing our waste hauling practices.
- Landscaping – On our campuses, we use small electric landscaping equipment, and environmentally sensitive fertilizers, weed control and pest management. We also recycle and reuse tree clippings.
- Fleet Management – We are transitioning to a future-ready fleet by gradually replacing our fleet vehicles with efficient new electric vehicles. So far, we have converted more than 10 percent of our fleet to electric vehicles. To support our growing EV fleet as well as other EV users, we have installed over 160 EV charging stations throughout our organization.
"Our commitment to environmental sustainability practices is integral to caring for our patient and families, and to the health and well-being of our community as a whole.”
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Baptist Health South Florida
Clinical Operations
We are working hard to deliver best-in-class healthcare while also doing our best to reduce our impact on the environment. We have implemented several innovative programs that are helping to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with our clinical operations, including:
- Sustainable Anesthesia: In line with industry-leading best practices, we are benchmarking anesthesia gas use across our system and developing strategies to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with our operating rooms, and minimize the use of desflurane, a potent greenhouse gas.
- Single Use Device (SUD) Reprocessing: We have partnered with suppliers to implement collections for used clinical instruments that can be reprocessed or recycled for future use, producing recycled instruments with OEM-level performance. As of 2023, we diverted over 5,000 pounds of clinical waste.
- On-site Pharmacy Dispensing and Telehealth: In addition to being convenient, our expansion of on-site pharmacy kiosks available at our outpatient facilities, retail pharmacy expansion at our hospitals, and telehealth visits is a fantastic way to reduce unnecessary driving and make it easier than ever for our patients to reduce their carbon footprint when filling prescriptions or visiting with their doctor.
Supply Chain
Our supply chain is among the best in the nation for performance and resilience, and keeps our hospitals stocked with everyday needs and critical life-saving supplies. We are developing strategies to reduce the climate impacts of our supply chain operations that include:
- Standards for Suppliers: We have revised our procurement procedures and standards to increase the expectations for our partners and suppliers to do their part for the environment, and prioritizing partnerships that improve the sustainability of our supply chain.
- Reducing Chemicals of Concern: The supplies we use in our labs, hospitals and offices should be clean and free of chemicals that can impact human health. We are developing reporting to better understand opportunities to reduce or eliminate these chemicals from the products we purchase without negatively impacting our standards for clinical excellence and patient care.
Staff and Community Engagement
Baptist Health is deeply committed to our community and proud to partner with local community organizations to raise awareness about sustainability. We provide local schools and local community groups with opportunities to learn ways to embrace environmentally friendly practices and make a positive impact on their health and carbon foot print.
From volunteering time to Adopt-A-Highway clean-ups and participating in America Recycles Day to hosting our own Farmers Markets and Earth Day Fairs, our team members and community members partner to support green efforts.
Our commitment to a sustainable, resilient, and thriving community has been recognized by prestigious organizations including Sustainable Florida, U.S. Green Building Council, Dream in Green, and Practice Green Health. We’ve also partnered with Healthcare Without Harm and Cleveland Clinic Florida as the co-chairs of the Southeast Florida Health Care Resilience Collaborative to support healthcare institutions in preparing their facilities and communities for the impacts of climate change. The collaborative provides a forum for members to learn and share best practices for mitigation and resilience practices that support the health of patients and the communities we serve.
One of our most innovative community engagement programs is Grow2Heal, which brings together values of sustainability, community outreach, preventative healthcare, and more equitable access to health through growing and sharing fresh produce.
Five gardens, located at Homestead Hospital, West Kendall Baptist Hospital, South Miami Hospital, Doctors Hospital, and Baptist Hospital in collaboration with Miami Cancer Institute, foster preventive health through nutrition. The gardens contribute to community building and education through events and field trips and provide stress relief by serving as sites for health and wellness events. They are also excellent sources for healthy food and nutrition: our oldest and largest garden at Homestead Hospital harvested more than 5,000 pounds of produce in 2023! This produce is sold at on-site farmers markets and used in our kitchens. By promoting sustainable agriculture education and practices, Grow2Heal also helps our hospitals reduce negative environmental impacts.
Baptist Hospital and Miami Cancer Institute
Doctors Hospital
Homestead Hospital
South Miami Hospital
