Program on green healthcare facilities

courtesy : Program on green healthcare facilities

The design of eco-friendly, energy-efficient, green construction projects has been gaining attention in all quarters, from the construction of private homes, office buildings, to large buildings such as hospital complexes. In the health sector, the so-called “Green Hospital” is a concept that is beginning to redefine how healthcare facilities are built to protect the environment while saving human lives.‍

The greater the amount of energy consumed in a hospital, the greater the release of toxic wastes to the environment, causing damage which may put human lives at risk of other diseases and death.‍

The shift to constructing sustainable healthcare facilities is largely centered on reducing the carbon burden in hospitals while ensuring that the occupants – staff and patients – are kept safe.‍

More and more hospital administrators are beginning to involve architects in incorporating green concepts into hospital design. In fact, according to a report by SBI Energy, green building renovations will experience a significant increase.‍

Hospitals utilize more resources and produce more waste materials than most other commercial buildings of a similar size. Healthcare facilities in the country consume more than 315 gallons of water per bed every day and an average US hospital consumes 103.600 Btu of natural gas per square foot annually.‍

In a typical healthcare centre, lighting, water heating, and space heating account for more than 65% of the energy consumption. Therefore, it remains essential for the construction of healthcare facilities to involve incorporation of green designs and concepts into the process to reduce the impact on the environment, cut down operational costs, and increase energy efficiency.‍

Hospital administrations have teamed up with designers, architects and construction companies to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, also called LEED. LEED is a system developed by the United States Green Building Council to rate a building and certify it as “green” based on design, construction, and operations of the building.
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#Program on green healthcare facilities

The Benefits of Green Buildings

There is a growing body of evidence supporting the establishment of these initiatives in the design and construction of building projects. On a large scale, these green design and operational initiatives help in achieving a number of global goals including addressing climate change, driving economic growth, and creating sustainable communities. The World Green Building Council groups the benefits of green buildings into three – environmental, economic, and social benefits. According to a report by the council, green buildings in Australia which received the “Green star certification” by the Green Building Council of Australia led to a 62% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared with the average Australian building. On a global level, green buildings will save as much as 84 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050.

Green building also offers a lot of economic benefits globally, on a country level, and on a building level. Some of the benefits include cost savings on utility bills, lower costs of construction, a higher property value for estate developers, and job creation. Building owners note, as reported in a report by Dodge Data & Analytics, that green buildings – whether newly constructed or renovated – created a 7 percent increase in asset value compared to traditional buildings.‍

Socially, the green building offers a number of benefits to occupants. Studies have shown that workers in green buildings reported a 101 percent improvement in cognitive scores. In addition, employees in green buildings with well-ventilated offices reported sleeping an average of 46 minutes more every night.‍

As healthcare evolves and administrators and providers explore strategies to promote better health care and lower administrative costs, constructing or renovating hospitals using green building design initiatives remains one of the core strategies, which no doubt has immense benefits not only for the hospital and immediate environment but for the world at large.”

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