Environmental sustainability
SMHS is committed to driving opportunities to reduce its environmental footprint and promote environmentally sustainable work practices.
As an organisation whose purpose is to provide health care, it is our responsibility to reduce our emissions for the health and wellbeing of our community. It is also our responsibility to use resources wisely for the health of the planet.
The SMHS Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2023–2026 (PDF 4.6MB) sets out carbon reduction initiatives already underway and our plans for action over the next three years.
The strategy is underpinned by the Environmental Sustainability Framework (PDF 133KB), aligns with its strategic priorities and supports recommendation 5 of the Western Australian Government’s Sustainable Health Review:
'Reduce the health system’s environmental footprint and ensure mitigation and adaptation strategies are in place to respond to the health impacts and risks of climate change. Set ongoing targets and measures aligned with established national and international goals.'
The framework is based on the ‘comprehensive framework of 10 interconnected goals for the health sector to address and promote greater sustainability and environmental health’ as per the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH) Agenda (external site).
SMHS became a member of the GGHH Network in May 2019. This membership is global recognition of SMHS’ commitment to reduce the environmental impacts contributed by the healthcare sector, aligns SMHS with best practice approaches in environmental sustainability and provides access to resources and communication platforms going forward.
Watch this video to learn about our environmental sustainability commitment and initiatives already underway across SMHS.
Sustainability initiatives
There have already been many initiatives and achievements across SMHS.
- SMHS is now desflurane-free, having eliminated the use of this commonly used anaesthetic agent, which is also a potent greenhouse gas.
- The introduction of food organics recycling in our hospital kitchens has seen tonnes of unavoidable food waste diverted from landfill to be processed into compost.
- A campaign to reduce the use of plastic ‘blueys’ has seen a 17 per cent reduction in usage, or 73,000 fewer blueys used across the health service.
- More than 200 staff are part of the SMHS Green Ambassadors network as local leaders in sustainability and champions for change.
- Comprehensive recycling streams capture PVC, syringes, single-use metal instruments, batteries, operating room plastics and more.
- Digital outpatient appointments conducted by clinicians in SMHS rose by 67,000 in 2021/22 – an increase of 31.6 per cent on the previous year, saving 39 million kilometres of car travel and 9,626 tonnes of CO2e.
- Structured Mobile and Remote Telecommuting (SMART) is now business as usual for appropriate staff, reducing staff travel by an average of 4,000 km per week which saves 1,012 kg of carbon dioxide each week
- Swapping single-use straws, pill cups, denture cups and lids for more sustainable alternatives resulted in 850,000 fewer plastic items going into landfill each year.