Navigating Healthcare Decarbonization

Reducing the effects of the climate crisis not only improves the health of a community, lessening the healthcare burden, it also looks ahead as states begin imposing regulations requiring reduced greenhouse gas emissions and avoids expensive retrofitting down the line.

ZGF has designed more than 70 million square feet of healthcare facilities across North America. Now, we are creating the sustainable healthcare facilities meeting the challenge of the climate crisis.

In British Columbia, the new Cowichan District Hospital, designed with Parkin Architects, will become the first fully electric hospital in the province using solar panels on the roof, LED lighting, insulation, and a system that captures and reuses heat from the mechanical systems to preheat water and air, reducing energy consumption. Eliminating that energy waste has the additional benefit of saving money to invest in care.

The design for Seattle Children’s Hospital, completed in 2022, features state-of-the-art mechanical systems that reduce energy usage by half compared to other hospitals. The facility relies on 90% renewable electricity. A heat recovery chiller satisfies more than 90% of the building’s annual heating load and more than 50% of its annual cooling load with high-efficiency heat recovery, saving more than 800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. According to the Healthcare Climate Council, a 30% reduction in the healthcare industry’s electricity carbon pollution by 2030 would prevent an estimated 4,130 premature deaths and save $1.2 billion in medical costs.

Addressing the Full Scope

ZGF was the first architecture firm to sign the Department of Health and Human Services Health Sector Climate Pledge. Healthcare stakeholders promise to combat the climate crisis through various goals, including reducing their emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions across its entire supply chain by 2050.

Reducing direct emissions from buildings and indirect emissions from energy produced by utilities are two of the three scopes of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The third is reducing emissions from the healthcare supply chain, everything from construction to staff commuting to products like inhalers to food (plant-based menus drop carbon emissions dramatically). Much of scope 3 is difficult to control, but here too solutions are accelerating.

One part of scope 3 where architects can make a significant impact is construction. More than 70% of a project’s embodied carbon impacts occur upfront. Because of advances in measuring carbon in materials in recent years, architects can identify lower carbon materials to neutralize hotspots. We can analyze an entire building or a portfolio of buildings. Sometimes the solutions are simple. Concrete production is one of the largest contributors to global warming, accounting for as much as 9% of carbon dioxide emissions but lower-carbon mixes are available for construction without increasing costs. Mass timber, which stores carbon and ZGF has integrated into numerous designs, is another answer to reduce construction emissions.

Comprehensive answers for each healthcare system differ in different parts of the continent. What's available where varies. Transitioning to all-electric is an obvious solution, but it means understanding the complex local landscape of grids and utilities. Not every grid is ready, but buildings should be designed for the day that it is.

The key is understanding where and how regulations and policies are putting wind in the sails of the decarbonization business model. Some states have incentives for reducing emissions while others have penalties for not meeting reduction targets. The Inflation Reduction Act offers energy-related tax credits and deductions for renewable energy investments, something clients may not realize. Many western states have enacted embodied carbon legislation to reduce construction supply chain emissions, most notably California’s CALGreen, and more will follow nationwide.

Looking Ahead

The healthcare industry is still early in its decarbonization journey, but significant impacts can be found in the intersections between technologies, methods and supply chain engagement. Navigating the trail to decarbonizing solutions through evolving state and federal regulations and incentives, materials innovations, and a sustainable supply chain maze requires continuing vigilance.

Fortunately, more and more all-electric hospitals built of low-carbon materials are emerging, while healthcare clients are realizing the importance and the benefits, financially and ethically, of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These developments are making the business case clear: healthy buildings are a good return on investment.