For the sixth year in a row, the American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) has received an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award, making it the eighth consecutive year that ASHE has received an ENERGY STAR award. The award, given by the Environmental Protection Agency, recognizes organizations for ongoing, above-and-beyond commitments to sustainability.
ASHE has developed several programs and resources dedicated to decarbonization and sustainability in health care physical environments, including the Energy to Care® Program, which is included in the American Hospital Association’s Sustainability Roadmap for Health Care™.
Energy to Care helps hospitals track sustainability metrics, become more efficient and redirect energy and water savings toward patient care.
Since 2014, ASHE has grown its Energy to Care participants from 239 health care facilities to more than 4,000. Collectively, those facilities have attained more than $550 million in energy savings.
In 2023, 78 hospitals earned an Energy to Care Award by reducing energy consumption by 10% in a single year or 15% over two years. Additionally, 10 facilities won an ASHE Sustainability Champion Award, and 32 facilities maintained top-tier energy performance to earn a Sustained Performance award.
The Energy to Care Program is also helping facilities reach other major milestones. For instance, the number of health care facilities in the Energy to Care Program with ENERGY STAR scores of 75 or more has increased from 110 in 2010 to 823 in 2023, with 53 hospitals and 271 medical offices earning ENERGY STAR certification last year.
Other sustainability-focused programs and resources developed or co-developed by ASHE include the “Health Care Leader’s Guide to Sustainability & Decarbonization”; the “Energy Benchmarking for US Hospitals” report; Operation Decarbonization, an e-learning program that gamifies sustainability by challenging participants to embark on a mission to reduce resource consumption and emissions in their health care facilities; and the HealQuest™ program, which guides interdepartmental teams through two days of hands-on activities to help make health care facilities more sustainable.
The Sustained Excellence Award is the highest honor bestowed by the ENERGY STAR program. Winners are part of a distinguished group that has made a long-term commitment to fighting climate change and protecting public health.
“It’s an honor to accept this award on behalf of ASHE members, who are continuing to carry out the hard work of decarbonizing health care facilities,” says Kara Brooks, MS, LEED AP BD+C, senior associate director of sustainability at ASHE.
