Sustainable Healthcare Certification Program
The Joint Commission has developed a new voluntary Sustainable Healthcare Certification (SHC) program that will be effective January 1, 2024. This certification program evaluates whether hospitals and critical access hospitals have put in place key structures and processes to improve energy efficiency, decrease their carbon footprint, and decrease waste. The SHC will be available to all Joint Commission–accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals and non-Joint Commission–accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals that comply with applicable federal laws, including US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation. The SHC aims to advance decarbonization in health care by helping organizations set and maintain goals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The framework of this new certification will result in a certified organization that is able to do the following:
The framework of this new certification will result in a certified organization that is able to do the following:
- Identify environmental sustainability and decarbonization as a strategic priority and allocate the resources needed to achieve and sustain its goals to improve its environmental footprint by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions
- Measure its greenhouse gas emissions and develop goals and action plans to reduce emissions
Certification Standards:
Certification Standards – Effective January 1, 2024