It is known that the health industry has contributed 4.4% of net global greenhouse emissions, due to the consumption of energy, transportation, and the manufacture, use, and disposal of products.
Faced with this situation, ABC Medical Center has worked for more than a decade on actions focused on environmental care, to reduce illnesses arising from climate change that affects the entire population.
Through its Environmental Management System, ABC Medical Center seeks to evaluate and reduce the environmental and public health impacts caused by its daily activities benefiting not only patients and employees but also society.
Various initiatives are contemplated within the Environmental Management project to improve environmental care, such as:
Urban vegetable gardens, gardens, and green walls
Spaces designed to produce a wide variety of vegetables that are treated agroecologically, that is, without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
Additionally, there are green and permeable areas with a surface greater than what is required in the regulations, which contribute to the mitigation of climate change and which provide a habitat for local species.
Also, Santa Fe Campus has an artificial lake that is fed by treated water from the hospital and which is used, in turn, to water the green areas, achieving a virtuous cycle capable of directly intervening with the ecosystem.
Energy saving
To reduce electricity consumption, ABC Medical Center has installed different accessories and low-consumption equipment, as well as the implementation of automatic shutdown of lights based on presence sensors.
On the other hand, through the installation of solar panels, it has been possible to take advantage of the thermal energy of the sun to heat 30% of the water consumed within hospitals, which translates into a lower consumption of fossil fuel for this end.
In addition, diesel or natural gas is now used as fuel for hybrid boilers that reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated in the process.
Water management
ABC Medical Center has devices for low drinking water consumption, which makes it possible to reduce the final consumption of this important resource.
After consumption, it is sent to wastewater treatment plants whose purpose is to reduce the number of pollutants present, which allows a percentage of the treated water to be reused for watering green areas or in toilet discharges.
By the end of 2022, Santa Fe Campus will provide a percentage of treated water for irrigation of nearby medians.
Wastes
On the other hand, for more than 15 years, ABC Medical Center has developed a waste management plan that allows classifying them in accordance with current regulations and ensuring their correct disposal.
In addition to commonly valued waste (PET, cardboard, paper, aluminum, etc.), also scrap, electronic, electrical, and toner waste are incorporated into component recovery processes that can be reused in other processes, vegetable oil, and fat residues generated in the kitchen area during food preparation are recovered for use in biodiesel production.
These activities, among others, are part of the ABC Medical Center’s contributions to the population’s health care and the reduction of environmental impact, towards a sustainable future.
