Boston Medical Center joins Health Care Climate Council

Massachusetts hospital is newest member of national climate leadership group

Displaying continued commitment to the health of its patients, colleagues, and community, Boston Medical Center has signed on as the newest member of the Health Care Climate Council.

Boston Medical Center (BMC), located in Boston’s historic South End, is the largest safety-net hospital and busiest emergency services center in New England. BMC has earned a reputation for providing state-of-the-art care, while demonstrating bold leadership in environmental sustainability.

BMC’s focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction is a key component of its efforts to make Boston the healthiest urban population in the world. So far, the medical center has reduced its energy use by 19.4 percent since 2011 and is projecting that it will be net-zero for GHG emissions by 2020. BMC recently partnered with MIT and the Post Office Square Garage to enter into the largest ever collaborative renewable power purchase agreement in the United States.

“Boston Medical Center is proud to join the Health Care Climate Council, which is leading the health care sector’s urgent response to climate change,” said Kate Walsh, BMC Health System President and CEO. “Our bottom line goal is to help people lead healthy and happy lives. Working to make BMC the greenest hospital in our city furthers our mission and supports our patients and community.”

Established by Health Care Without Harm, the Health Care Climate Council is a leadership network of hospitals committed to strengthening the health sector’s response to climate change. Together, the 19 member systems represent over $165 billion in annual revenue, employ nearly 1 million employees, and operate 500 hospitals throughout the United States. By leveraging their collective influence, the council’s mission is to amplify public and private responses to climate change by accelerating investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency; scaling the health sector’s adoption of climate change mitigation and resiliency programs; and advocating for local, state, and national policies that ensure a sustainable and healthy future consistent with our collective vision for healthy individuals and communities.

For more information, contact Benn Grover, Health Care Without Harm (bgrover@hcwh.org, 888-461-0112), or David Kibbe, Boston Medical Center, (david.kibbe@bmc.org, 617-638-8499). 

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About the Health Care Climate Council

Established by Health Care Without Harm, the Health Care Climate Council is a leadership network of hospitals committed to strengthening the health sector’s response to climate change.

About Boston Medical Center

Boston Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit, 487-bed, academic medical center that is the primary teaching affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine. It is the largest and busiest provider of trauma and emergency services in New England. It offers specialized care for complex health problems and is a leading research institution, receiving more than $117 million in sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2016. It is the 13th largest recipient of funding in the U.S. from the National Institutes of Health among independent hospitals. In 1997, BMC founded Boston Medical Center Health Plan Inc., now one of the top ranked Medicaid MCOs in the country, as a nonprofit managed care organization. Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine are partners in the Boston HealthNet – 14 community health centers focused on providing exceptional health care to residents of Boston.