Hospitals are carbon bombs. Some are trying to change

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Jun 06, 2023 View in browser   By Debra Kahn Presented by THE BIG IDEA Boston Medical Center has a rooftop farm on top of its power plant. | Boston Medical Center A MORE HOSPITABLE CLIMATE — The University of California San Diego is switching its anesthesia delivery system from leaky pipes to tanks and canisters. It's no laughing matter: Nitrous oxide is an extremely potent greenhouse gas that can linger in the atmosphere for 114 years. Hospitals around the country are taking steps to be more sustainable, Joanne Kenen reports: Medical centers in Vermont and Boston are growing vegetables in rooftop gardens; Seattle Children’s Hospital is planting conifers in greenery-starved low-income neighborhoods. To save water in drought-prone Los Angeles, a UCLA plastic surgeon suggested timers for operating room sinks. The health care sector and its supply chain are responsible for 8.5 percent of U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide, methane and ozone — an outsized impact compared with the rest of the world. (Globally, health care systems contribute roughly 4.6 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.) “When you really dig into it, we find that we are typically the biggest energy user, the biggest water user and the biggest waste producer in a community,” said Barbara Hamilton, UC San Diego's health sustainability officer. The Biden administration is corralling hospitals' sustainability efforts through the Department of Health and Human Services. About 116 health organizations representing 872 hospitals have signed onto its climate pledge, which combined with the federal health systems covers about 15 percent of U.S. hospitals. The pledge is voluntary, but hospital sustainability experts insist it’s not the usual feel-good exercise. Signatories commit to specific actions and must publicly report progress toward cutting emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and cutting net emissions by 100 percent by 2050. “It’s been a catalyst,” said Sarah Brockhaus, the sustainability programs manager of UCLA Health. There’s also a trickle-down effect in terms of knowledge and experience, she said, for smaller hospitals and those with fewer resources than a place like UCLA. Lots is happening, but it's unclear whether any of it will be enough. Chisara Ehiemere, a leading researcher at NYU Stern Center on Sustainable Business, says the early adopters are on their way, but the pandemic has stalled broader efforts. For health systems that didn't start pre-pandemic and now are dealing with nursing shortages and slim margins, the data will need to show clear return on investment for green initiatives. “It’s really hard sometimes for hospitals to make the business case for doing this," she said.   A message from American Beverage Association: At America’s beverage companies, we are committed to reducing our plastic footprint. That’s why we’re carefully designing our plastic bottles to be 100% recyclable, including the caps. Our goal is for every bottle to become a new one, so they don’t end up in nature. Learn more at EveryBottleBack.org.   WASHINGTON WATCH SHEIN STAFFS UP — Shein, the world’s largest online fashion retailer, is out to change its negative reputation in Washington. It's hiring D.C. lobbyists and going on the offensive against charges that it uses forced labor, Gavin Bade reports. The new lobbying effort underscores how geopolitical tensions are squeezing Chinese companies that rely on markets in the West, where they face rising scrutiny from both governments and consumers. Shein, specifically, is under the microscope for its alleged reliance on supply chains that run through China’s Xinjiang region, the site of widespread human rights abuses against the Uyghur minority. The U.S. enacted a ban on imports from the region in 2021. Lawmakers are skeptical of the company's claims that only 2.1 percent of its cotton was found to be sourced from the northwest Chinese region or other “unapproved” places. “I’m not sure that mostly-not-made-with-slave-labor is a good advertisement,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the House Select Committee on China, which has opened an investigation into Shein and other suspected trade cheats.   GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE.     Sustainable Finance ESG THROUGH THE AGES — Going by the headlines, the right-wing revolt against investing guided by environmental, social and governance concerns is just conservatives pushing back against a newfangled concept on the left. But the idea that virtue has a market value has been a part of capitalism for hundreds of years, writes Jacob Soll, a history and accounting professor at the University of Southern California. In the 13th century, Saint Francis of Assisi and the Scholastic thinkers believed that all profit had to be measured with the concept of the “just price” — exchanges had to be mutually beneficial and no one could take an unfair profit from others. Dutch Humanists argued in the 15th century that finance should take account of morality. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) may oppose ESG investments, but he supports the U.S. investment embargo against Cuba, a six-decade-long moral stand against an authoritarian government. "In the end, ESG is just another name for moral considerations in capitalism," Soll writes. "The left may think that’s an oxymoron and the right may see a woke conspiracy, but it’s a notion that has existed since the rise of capitalism in medieval Italy and which has been central to America since its founding."   A message from American Beverage Association:   Movers and Shakers Sangeet Nepal has joined the Carbon Capture Coalition as a carbon removal and reuse specialist, Caitlin Oprysko reports. He previously was a grad student at Indiana University Bloomington and was co-founder and COO of a consulting firm focused on air, waste, mobility and livelihood solutions. Nancy Young is now chief sustainability officer at chemical and biofuels company Gevo, Caitlin also reports. She previously was chief sustainability officer at Alder Fuels.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW.     YOU TELL US GAME ON — Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang. Reach us all at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, jwolman@politico.com and aprang@politico.com. Want more? Don’t we all. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — One of Germany's wealthiest states is blacklisting U.S. Treasuries, faulting America's failure to adopt some key sustainability policies. Bloomberg has details. — Japan is revising its decarbonization strategy, pledging $107 billion to boost hydrogen energy supply chains, the Associated Press reports — Scathing criticism of electric vehicles by comedian Rowan Atkinson, better known as Mr. Bean, has drawn a response in the Washington Post.   A message from American Beverage Association: America’s leading beverage companies - The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo - are working together to reduce our industry’s plastic footprint through our Every Bottle Back initiative. We’re investing in efforts to get our bottles back so we can remake them into new bottles and use less new plastic.  Together, we’re:  Designing 100% recyclable plastic bottles – we’re making our bottles from PET that’s strong, lightweight and easy to recycle.    Investing in community recycling – we’re marshalling the equivalent of nearly a half-billion dollars with The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners to support community recycling programs where we can have the greatest impact.  Raising awareness – we’re adding on-pack reminders to encourage consumers to recycle our plastic bottles and caps.      Our bottles are made to be remade. Please help us get Every Bottle Back.     Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman Allison Prang @AllisonPrang   Follow us

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