Evanston, Illinois – June 14, 2023 – NorthShore University HealthSystem has been recognized with numerous national honors for its efforts in environmental sustainability. As part of its Environmental Excellence Awards program, Practice Greenhealth has honored NorthShore, Evanston Hospital, Glenbrook Hospital, Highland Park Hospital and Skokie Hospital for their industry leadership, all-around performance and achievements, and implementation of advanced comprehensive programs. Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to environmental stewardship and sustainability excellence in healthcare institutions.

NorthShore earned the System for Change Award (one of only 12 health systems in the nation) and Circle of Excellence Award for its program to reduce the use of chemicals. The System for Change Award recognizes an organization’s ongoing commitment to improving its environmental performance and efforts to build sustainability and resiliency into the operations and culture of the institution.

The Circle of Excellence Awards honor up to 10 of the highest-performing hospitals nationwide in areas of sustainability expertise. The Chemicals Circle celebrates facilities with sound chemical reduction policies and practices. Winners address toxicity through purchasing, change of products, services and equipment, and educate their staff and the community on hazardous chemicals.

In addition, Skokie Hospital was named one of the Top 25 hospitals in the country for its distinguished work in pursuing environmental excellence. As Practice Greenhealth’s highest honor, Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award recipients are industry leaders in all-around sustainability performance, demonstrating comprehensive programs and illustrate how sustainability is entrenched in their organizational culture.

Glenbrook Hospital earned the Circle of Excellence Award in the area of Greening the OR, which acknowledges leadership in implementation and innovation in the surgical department, including medical waste reduction and clinical plastics recycling, reformulation of OR kits, medical device reprocessing, use of reusable sterilization cases and sustainable anesthesia practices and other innovative programs.

Evanston, Glenbrook and Highland Park Hospitals received the Greenhealth Emerald Award that recognizes the top 20 percent of award applicants and their ongoing commitment to improving environmental performance and efforts to build sustainability and resiliency into the operations and culture the institution.

Evanston, Highland Park and Skokie Hospitals were each recognized with the Greening the OR Recognition Award, which honors hospitals that have made substantial strides in improving environmental performance in the operating room.

“At NorthShore University HealthSystem, we understand the importance of reducing our carbon emissions, energy and water use, waste generation and use of hazardous chemicals in order to support a healthier environment for the communities we serve,” says Michael Fiore, Associate Vice President, Clinical Operations and Environmental Health & Safety, NorthShore University HealthSystem. “Our commitment to sustainability through innovation to minimize our environmental impact supports our mission to help everyone in our communities be their best.”

Highlights of NorthShore and its legacy hospitals’ environmental sustainability efforts include:

• Strategic efforts to minimize NorthShore’s environmental footprint and impacts on the communities served.
• Successful elimination of the use of harmful chemicals, such as ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic pollutant used to sterilize medical equipment, and desflurane, an anesthetic agent with the highest global warming potential.
• Effective waste management by implementing food digesters to eliminate food waste sent to the landfill.
• Creative systems to recycle up to 20% of NorthShore’s remaining waste.
• Carbon (greenhouse gas) reduction initiatives to increase local and sustainable food/beverage purchases.
• A reduction in building energy use through implementation of conservation measures.
• Exploring more efficient/alternative fleet vehicles.
• Implementing onsite renewable energy generation via solar panels.

Practice Greenhealth’s Environmental Excellence Awards are the nation’s premier recognition program for environmental performance in the health care sector. Launched in 2002, the awards program recognizes health care facilities and health systems for their commitment to environmental stewardship and their sustainability achievements.