Human health is inextricably connected to the health of the planet. As the #1 health system in California, UCLA Health recognizes the importance of environmental health, social equity, and economic vitality. We are committed to addressing our environmental footprint and understand the necessity of incorporating sustainable practices in our operations.
Population growth, industrialization, and other activities over the last century have increased carbon emissions and degraded the environment in ways that now increase heat related illness, vector borne disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cardiovascular disease. The climate crisis is the most significant global threat to human health this century, but it is also our greatest opportunity for change. We cannot maintain our health without preserving our habitat, so ensuring our planet is healthy ensures our patients and communities remain healthy as well.
The traditional “triple bottom line” focuses on developing organizational solutions that meet the needs of people, planet, and profit. It’s also described through the lens of the “three e’s”: ecological, equitable, and economical. In healthcare, patient safety, quality of care and health equity are our number one priorities to “first, do no harm,” as the hippocratic oath states. Similarly, our sustainability program seeks to find solutions through its own lens: patient health, economic health, and environmental health.
