Canada's Greenest Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 84
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CANADA'S GREENEST EMPLOYERS (2025)
A vision of ‘a healthier world’ drives people at UHN
Y
ears before
sustainability became
a regular topic of
conversation,
University Health
Network (UHN) in Toronto had a
department dedicated to it. In the
years since, the department has
grown, as has sustainability's
importance in the organization.
“Leading environmental and
social impacts is one of our
foundational commitments,”
explains Joanne Bridle, executive
director of facilities management
for the group of hospitals, and a
registered dietitian. “Everything
we’re doing should be considered
in terms of impact on climate,
impact on sustainability, impact
on social factors, before anything.”
include the Noventa Wastewater
Energy Transfer (WET) System,
which uses thermal energy from a
wastewater interceptor sewer to
supply most of the heating and
cooling to nearby Toronto Western
Hospital. That alone reduces
UHN’s GHG emissions by 8,400
metric tonnes each year.
Three of UHN’s other centres
use renewable cooling from deep
in Lake Ontario in place of an
electric chiller plant. The savings
are not only in kilowatt hours of
electricity (12.75 million) but also
in dollars ($1.4 million). “We’ve
been able to find a lot of projects
that help us hit that sweet spot,”
says Bridle, “so that’s win, win,
win.”
UHN has also replaced
desflurane, a general anesthetic,
as emitting one molecule of the
gas is equivalent to releasing more
than 3,500 molecules of carbon
dioxide. That switch has led to a
56-per-cent drop in UHN’s carbon
footprint related to general
anesthesia since 2019.
The Green Team is made of
everyone from front-line staff and
physicians to senior leadership.
Some are leading projects
— looking at timing changes in
lighting or automation for more
efficiency, or streamlining supplies
to prevent waste — while others
are sustainability champions in
their departments.
In one case, the team assessed
the surgical unit at Toronto
Western Hospital, where Victoria
Wilson is a nurse. “They’re very
solutions-oriented,” she says. “And
I feel like they’re really on our
side, which helps motivate us to
get on board with what is really
the best option to save money and
to save the environment.”
Indeed, several changes have
contributed to UHN’s 41-percent
waste-diversion rate, including
replacing disposable gowns with
reusable ones, introducing
compostable kidney basins, and
streamlining garbage and
recycling, among others.
The organization also has an
active bike-to-work program with
399 secure bike parking spots, bike
lockers, showers, a Bike Share
Toronto discount, as well as 54
charging stations for electric
Everything we’re doing
should be considered in
terms of impact on climate,
impact on sustainability,
impact on social factors,
before anything.
— Joanne Bridle
Executive Director of
Facilities Management
Because UHN’s strategic vision
is for “a healthier world,” she
adds, there is commitment and
passion for greening and
sustainability at every level of
organization – from the board of
directors and the 700-strong
Green Team at the grassroots
level.
One of UHN’s biggest goals is to
reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from utilities by 45 per
cent by 2030. Major projects
University Health Network donated more than 3,000 recycling bins to communities in need to help reduce
landfill waste.
