Holland Bloorview scores “3 green” marking standout areas in procurement and preparation for climate shocks
The Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) has released its first Climate & Sustainability Report1 (PDF), which highlights the efforts of 13 academic hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto to prioritize sustainability and climate action, as assessed by a recently-developed Sustainability Balanced Scorecard. Organizations were scored on a green (achieved), yellow (partially achieved) and red (not achieved) scale.
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital scored 3 green, 4 yellow and 1 red. Standout areas were in organizational capacity and procurement and preparation for climate shocks. Its sole red flag was in area of waste management due to the lack of specific initiatives in this area at the time of data collection and this has since been remedied.
“We are early in our journey of implementing a focused and impactful environmental sustainability strategy,” said Stewart Wong, vice president, communications, strategy and sustainability at Holland Bloorview. “Under the leadership of our environmental sustainability task force, we have already begun implementing plans to reduce waste, use less energy and lower water usage across the organization.”
Inaugural report card
The report is the first of its kind for TAHSN with 13 hospitals measuring themselves against four perspectives, each with their own foci:
- Leading – organizational capacity, leadership and governance
- Caring – appropriate care and supply stewardship
- Building – infrastructure, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and waste
- Shaping – procurement and resilience to climate shocks and stresses
Scores were collected in September 2024. Each perspective identifies two objectives for a total of 8. Each objective incorporates a series of criteria to assess achievement. The average score of participating hospitals was 3 green, 3 yellow and 2 red. No organization received the theoretical best score of 8.
“We expect that this scorecard will be a catalyst to spur action for an environmental crisis that is playing out every day in headlines around the world,” says Heather McPherson, TAHSN chair and president & CEO, Women's College Hospital. “TAHSN and our member hospitals are taking a hard look at ourselves and pushing ourselves to do more.”
The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard was developed under the leadership of the TAHSN Sustainable Health System Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP was established in 2020 by the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) and the University of Toronto’s Council of Health Sciences (CHS) to collaboratively address the challenge of climate change in the health sector.
The Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health & Sustainable Care is a multi-faculty academic unit at the University of Toronto, which serves as secretariat for the community of practice. Brittany Maguire, the managing director, and Fiona Miller, the director, led the development of the scorecard and report and have facilitated the CoP on various sustainability initiatives through working groups and pilot initiatives.
This is the second version of the scorecard and the first to be made publicly available. Another assessment is planned for 2025, to continue to monitor and drive performance, celebrate achievements, and share practices and learnings across and beyond the network.
Looking ahead
TAHSN is one of the largest academic health science networks in North America, with more than 92,000 staff and serving more than 8 million patients each year2. With size, scale and breadth, TAHSN seeks to demonstrate local impact and global leadership in climate resilience, and environmental stewardship.
Holland Bloorview has prioritized sustainability as a commitment in its latest strategic plan (2023-2030), Transformative Care, Inclusive World: Holland Bloorview 2030. A pathway for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14 per cent by 2029 has been mapped out in its Energy Conservation & Demand Management Plan (PDF).
References
1. Maguire, B, Miller, FA. Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) 2024 Climate & Sustainability Report. Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health & Sustainable Care. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. March 2025.
2. Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN). TAHSN Impact Report 2023. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. August 2023.
