Supporting environmental sustainability in the delivery of primary care
The goal of the Green Initiative is to provide Primary Care practitioners with support and tools in providing care that:
1) is environmentally sustainable, and
2) leads to improved health outcomes.
In partnership with
How the Green Initiative supports environmental sustainability in the delivery of primary care
One Health Approach: Population Health, Planetary Health
The living environment is a fundamental determinant of health. Stable food, water, weather, and clean air all play a role in health. Grounded in the ‘One Health’, we believe in co-living with people, animals and the environment, especially when it comes to responding to global health threats (United Nation, 2017).
When compared to public health units across the province, Hamilton, Ontario reports to be:
- The second highest asthma prevalence (age standardized)
- Significantly higher health inequities related to respiratory disease and hospitalization (both overall and COPD)
- Higher mental health emergency department visits than Ontario’s average (Chronic Disease Data, n.d.)
- Cancer mortality rates are significantly higher and in Hamilton, almost 90% higher in Code Red areas than in wealthier neighbourhoods, primarily due to increased smoking (‘CANCER’, 2013). The burden of this mortality inequitably lands on Hamilton’s vulnerable.
- Inequity in these areas extends to increased respiratory disease burden as well. Asthma hospitalizations and detection of pollutants which put individuals (particularly young females) at increased risk for asthma (Sahsuvaroglu et al., 2009).
Planetary Health in Primary Care: Planetary Health Conference (May 21, 2025)
The Green Initiative, in collaboration with PEACH Health and the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare, hosted the first Planetary Health Conference in Ontario. An opportunity for healthcare professionals, researchers, and experts to exchange knowledge, inspire action and explore innovative solutions for advancing sustainability in primary care. Topics included: Environmental Racism, Plant-Rich Eating, Social Prescribing & Food Prescriptions in Hamilton, and End of Life Care.
91
Attendees
14
Speakers
3
Sponsorship tables
Conference sponsors:
Comprehensive Toolkits For Providers
Green Office Toolkit
Looking to green your office? Use our Green Office Toolkit, updated for 2024 and filled with implementation tips for building a sustainable workplace. This toolkit is a living document, so we welcome your feedback for future versions to green.team@hamiltonfht.ca.
Sustainable Healthcare for Serious Illness & End of Life Care
A practical guide for primary health care teams aiming to assist with overcoming barriers when engaging with Advance Care Planning and how environmentally sustainable practices can be integrated into patient care and health care delivery.
4 Publications (2024)
Green Office 2024 Challenge: Winners Spotlight
The Green office challenge was designed to determine whether clinics around Canada are involved in green initiatives aimed at reducing green-house-gas emissions. As a result, we developed a short (5 min) questionnaire delving into the different areas of sustainability in healthcare, distributed the survey to different practices across Canada and analyzed the results.
Winner: Ann Rodrigues and Team
Unity Health Toronto: An inter-disciplinary team consisting of nurses, physicians, dietitians, pharmacists, and patient partners across five separate sites that serve over 50,000 patients in a downtown urban setting.
Key initiatives:
- Patient education
- Promoting plant-rich eating and Park Rx
- Deprescribing and MDI to DPI switches
“We are so grateful to be the very first to receive this national recognition. We are inspired by all the other successful projects. This award will help motivate our team to continue to improve the sustainability of our clinics and to continue making connections and sharing knowledge with others healthcare teams across the country.”
Runner Up: Dr. Cari Reed and Team
Beamsville Medical Centre: A family medicine clinic with a “Green Team” and committee of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and office staff that meet semi-regularly to discuss in-clinic green initiatives. Together they brainstorm ideas to reduce their office’s carbon footprint and bring these ideas to regular doctors’ meetings.
Key initiatives:
- Procurement initiatives
- Deprescribing and Best Care program
- Patient Education by promoting Plant-rich eating
“We completed the Green Office Challenge in order to reflect on the changes that we have made at our office since forming our ‘Green Team’ in 2021. It highlighted the important changes we have made and hearing presentations from other participating groups helped us recognize new areas that we can look at to improve our carbon footprint!”
Runner Up: Dr. Del Bel Belluz
Hamilton Family Health Team: A community team-based primary care team with 260 inter-professional team members with 95 sites. Dr. Del Bel Belluz works at a small practice that is part of Hamilton FHT consisting of two family physicians, each with approximately 1100 patients, one part time nurse, and four medical admin/front desk staff.
Key initiatives:
- Building Supply initiative
- Patient Education by promoting Plant-rich eating and Park Rx
“Through the Green Office Challenge we learned the joy of sharing in a community of dedicated, environmentally conscious healthcare workers, working towards a shared goal of improving the health and future of our patients and our planet.”
Collaborating towards Community and Planetary Health
Physician Mentorship Program
The aim of the mentorship program is to link clinics interested in implementing sustainability initiatives with a mentor (a primary care worker who has implemented initiatives in their clinic) to provide one-one-one context-specific support. This year, four clinics participated in the program.
Collaboration with McMaster’s MBA Program
In July 2024, the Green Initiative collaborated with McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business to develop the business trajectory for the growth and reformation of the Green Initiative into the local and National Green Health Centre of Excellence.
This project was conducted in partnership by MBA candidates Tina Lam and Frank Ong under the supervision of Professor Behrouz Bakhtiari.
Tree Planting for Green Health Day
Collaborating with the Guelph Family Health Team, Green Health Day is designed to acknowledge and celebrate the intersection between health, wellness and the health of our planet. This year we decided to team up with several clinics in our area to host a series of events aimed at sharing knowledge, connecting with communities and helping our environment, including a community tree planting.