First-ever UC Davis Health Sustainability Summit to be held in November

November 02, 2023

(SACRAMENTO) Do you ever ask yourself, “How can I do the same with less?” or “How can I waste less?” or even, “How can I leave a healthier planet for future generations?”

These questions and others will be in sharp focus at the first-ever Sustainability Summit at UC Davis Health on Monday, Nov. 13. The event will feature speakers from the health system’s operating rooms, emergency department, and other units who will share success stories about how UC Davis Health is working toward sustainability goals, and how they have overcome some of the challenges they have faced along the way. (More: Read four reasons you should attend the summit here.)

To register, and for a detailed list of summit topics, click here.

Leaning in on sustainability

Sustainability is defined as fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations. The UC Health system has overall goals for sustainability, including use of clean electricity, energy performance targets, waste reduction and water use goals, and providing at least 30% sustainably sourced food. UC Davis Health is making significant progress toward these goals, but more work remained to be done.

David Lubarsky, CEO of UC Davis Health and Vice Chancellor for Human Health Sciences, says while UC Davis Health is a leader in the UC system, we are also aiming to surpass some of the UC-wide sustainability goals – because it’s the right thing to do.

“We are taking an action-oriented approach on the issue of sustainability, because it’s a business imperative. Companies that lead on sustainability also lead their field in other ways. We are all in this together and each of us has roles to play. Collectively, health care contributes 8.5% of total U.S. emissions, so as we show others how to lead here, not only are we making the world better, but we are showing that it can be done, and how others should to do it,” Lubarsky said.

Facts and data at a glance:

UC Davis Health is part of the current UC Health’s systemwide goal to reduce 300 tons of waste as a threshold in this current 2023-2024 fiscal year.
UC Davis Health creates approximately 4,437 tons of solid waste, regulated medical waste, and hazardous waste each year.
UC Davis Health is the second largest waste producer in the UC Health system, second to UCSF Health (5,164 tons).
The UC Health system altogether creates 19,871 tons of waste collectively a year.
That means UC Davis Health is responsible for approximately 22.3% of that collective goal, which means we need to reduce approximately 67 tons of waste, according to the most recent fiscal year of collected data (2021-2022).
That breaks down to 5.58 tons reduction a month (11,165 pounds/month), 1.29 tons reduction a week (2,578 pounds/week), and 0.18 tons reduction a day (368 pounds/day).
Recycling is coming back. An initiative for recycling is currently being implemented and has already rolled out in some units. Once complete, the goal is that all recyclable material that is placed in these bins will be recycled and diverted from the land fill. Also, UC Davis Health will start collecting ideas and feedback about waste reduction opportunities.
A new Clinical Practice Council Sustainability Subcommittee will vet the incoming ideas presented through the Product Concern Form and determine course of action for elevating those ideas to action.
UC Davis Health was recognized by Practice Greenhealth as a national leader in environmental excellence and one of the Top 25 hospitals in the country for the 2nd year in a row. One area UC Davis Health has room to improve in is waste reduction.
UC Davis Health was also honored again with the Greening the Operating Room Recognition Award (3rd year receiving this award). This recognition is designated for hospitals that have made strides in improving environmental performance in the operating room.
UC Davis Health received five designations in the Circles of Excellence, which honors up to 10 of the highest performing hospitals nationwide in various areas of sustainability. UC Davis Health earned the most Practice Greenhealth awards of all participating UC Health locations. The five areas in which UC Davis Health was recognized this year include sustainable procurement, water, transportation, green building, fan food (a UC Health-wide shared award).
As noted above, UC Davis has already done some good work on sustainability. But we can’t rest on our laurels right now – we can strive for higher levels of success that will result in a more sustainable and equitable UC Davis Health for future generations of patients, employees and community members.

Lubarsky said, “Sustainability is one of the most important issues of our time – it touches every aspect of our lives. While UC Davis Health has made real progress, more must be done to meet our goals. It’s time to seize the opportunity to become a sustainability leader across the region and among the UC’s medical campuses. The health of our planet, and its people, is reflected in the decisions and choices we make on a daily basis. That’s why we are empowering everyone – all of our staff, faculty, students, partners – to join this mission and contribute their efforts, especially their ideas and observations, so we can make these changes in collaborative and transparent ways. As Albert Einstein once said, ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.’”

Click here to read more about UC Davis Health Sustainability.