Inova's Sustainability Journey
For more than two decades, Inova Health System has worked to be a good steward of the earth and our natural resources. Environmental sustainability is part of Inova’s core mission and is an integral part of our corporate culture.
Beginning in the early 1990's, some of our earliest successes include:
- Eliminating incinerator burning of waste and the use EtO for instrument sterilization
- Partnering with Healthcare Forum and Modern Healthcare in 1992 to sponsor a forum to raise awareness of the impact of hospital products on the environment
- Participating in the EPA Green Lights program in 1995 to improve our carbon footprint and our energy efficiency. Upgrades made to our lighting systems through this project generated annual savings of 1,532,663 kWh and prevented 2,435,637 pounds of CO2 from entering the environment - equivalent to removing 230 cars from the road each year
- Participating in a pilot program to recycle IV bags
- Implementing a cardboard and paper recycling program
As our environmental sustainability program continued to grow, it expanded to encompass a wide range of achievements.
In 2007, a system-level Environmental Oversight Committee was formed with the goal of minimizing Inova's environmental and health impacts. The next year, a Sustainability Engineer was hired to oversee these efforts, and the Office of Sustainability was created to help coordinate and implement them throughout the organization. Since then, nearly all sustainability and Inova Going Green initiatives have been managed through this department.
Click for larger image of Inova's timeline of sustainability 