Between 2011 and 2013, Boston hospitals decreased their energy use and emissions by 4 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, according to a Boston Business Journal report.
When researchers factored in circumstances such as changes in square footage, weather needs and increased technology demands, the decline in energy usage was really closer to 6 percent and sector-wide emissions also decreased by 6 percent.
The citywide initiative — a joint effort by Health Care Without Harm and Boston Green Ribbon Commission's Health Care Working Group — includes 22 participating hospitals although the recent report included data from only 13 of the institutions.
In total, the report includes data from 39 buildings and roughly 22 million square feet of space. For the nine institutions out of the 13 where cost could be verified, the savings amounted to approximately $11.9 million, according to the report.
Some larger participating Boston institutions experienced even greater strides; Massachusetts General Hospital reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent in 2014. Boston Medical Center has aimed to reduce emissions by 45 percent by 2020, and Brigham and Women's Hospital has committed to reducing emissions by 35 percent by 2020.
A senior advisor for energy and buildings with Health Care Without Harm, Paul Lipke told Boston Business Journal that keeping greenhouse emissions low in future years will become increasingly difficult, due to increased energy usage needs and efficiencies becoming more costly and difficult to implement. Nevertheless, Mr. Lipke maintains the state's institutions are on track with their goal and officials remain optimistic.
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