Health Care Improves Environmental Health


Kaiser Permanente, the largest non-profit HMO in the country is going solar. They will power 15 of their facilities in California with solar power by the summer of 2011.

This agreement with Recurrent Energy, an independent power producer and a developer of solar power projects, will launch one of the largest sustainable energy programs in U.S. health care, according to a press release by Kaiser Permanente.

“What’s good for the environment is good for our health,” said Raymond Baxer, PhD, senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy at Kaiser Permanente in a press release. “By expanding the use of solar power, Kaiser Permanente is demonstrating its commitment to greening its energy portfolio and reducing its carbon footprint."

The solar power systems at Kaiser Permanente will produce an average of 10 percent of the power they use, equivalent to electricity used by about 1,900 homes a year.

As the result of green building efforts, Kaiser Permanente:

-Saves more than $10 million per year through energy conservation strategies. A leader in environmental health care and construction, Kaiser Permanente has committed to drastically reducing its use of fossil fuels and slowing energy growth over the next 10 years.

-Will use sustainable design and construction practices to complete roughly 6.7 million square feet of new construction in the next seven years.

-Eliminated the purchase and disposal of 40 tons of harmful chemicals.


Read more about this project here.

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