Florida Hospital Carrollwood was recently recognized for its efforts to decrease consumption of fuel, water and energy.
The Hospital received the Green Business Designation from
The Sustany Foundation and the
City of Tampa. The program recognizes efforts of Tampa-based businesses in energy and natural gas consumption, water consumption, fuel consumption, solid waste and recycling.
Through its green initiative, launched in 2011, the Hospital has been able to save 2.4 million kilowatts of energy and 583,307 gallons of water, among other savings. Specific efforts include replacing incandescent light bulbs with more energy efficient options and purchasing only ENERGY STAR products. A partnership with
Stericycle allowed them to identify recycling opportunities, leading to 30,683 lbs of recycling. They also implemented employee-focused programs such as recycling education, designated parking spaces for fuel efficient vehicles and a Green Team to help review their progress and develop new ideas.
"We believe strongly that we’re here to benefit the community," says Florida Hospital CEO Joe Johnson. "We want to do whatever we can to minimize the impact to our landfills and our environment."
The Green Business Designation process involves businesses completing a set of specific metrics including materials recycled, percent of employees that carpool, ongoing hours of energy and water conservation and training and business-generated metrics.
The Hospital responded to a recent challenge by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and is the only hospital to receive the designation thus far. The challenge was first identified by a hospital employee who championed it internally. "I knew it was a challenge we needed to accept," says Johnson.
Writer:
Megan Hendricks
Source: Joe Johnson, Florida Hospital Carrollwood
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