• NHS England Carbon Footprinting Report (2008): The NHS has produced an NHS England Carbon Reduction Strategy, as part of a broader sustainable development agenda. To support this process, the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) has completed an updated carbon footprinting study – covering all NHS England Estates and activities – in conjunction with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). Download PDF
• Material Health. A mass balance and ecological footprint analysis of the NHS in England and Wales (2004). Oxford: Best Foot Forward: This research and development project set out to determine the mass balance and ecological footprint of the NHS in England and Wales, and is an important first step toward quantifying the environmental impact of the delivery of health care services by the NHS.  It highlights areas which can be most readily tackled, and has served to move towards a more sustainable future.  Visit Web
• Route Map for Sustainable Health.  NHS Sustainable Development Unit: We are moving towards a more resource restricted world. NHS finances, fossil fuel and carbon are all limited. It is possible to reduce the levels predicted in this graph. The Route Map identifies the key issues that need to be considered immediately in order to make this level of reduction.  Visit Web
• Low Carbon Buildings in the Healthcare Sector: LCB-Healthcare stimulates demand for innovative low-carbon solutions for the healthcare sector by providing procurement decision makers with the knowledge and tools to achieve more sustainable buildings within their budget constraints.  This site offers reports and case studies on retrofits and new construction across the EU.  Visit Web
• Targeting 100: Full Report (2011): This research, Targeting 100!, provides a conceptual framework and decision-making structure at a schematic design level of precision for hospital owners, architects and engineers to radically reduce energy use in hospitals.  Visit web
• LEED for Healthcare (2011): LEED for Healthcare guides the design and construction of both new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings, and can be applied to inpatient, outpatient and licensed long-term care facilities, medical offices, assisted living facilities and medical education and research centers.  Visit Web
• GreenStar for Healthcare (2011): The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) released the Green Star – Healthcare v1 tool on 15 June 2009 to support sustainable planning, design and construction of high-performance healthcare facilities.  Visit Web
• Buildings and Climate Change – Status, Challenges and Opportunities UNEP (2007): This publication outlines the salient features of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from building use and construction. The target for this study is to assess factors affecting the ability and willingness of the building and construction sector stakeholders to adopt energy efficiency and consequently greenhouse gas emission reduction measures. Download PDF
• The Kyoto Protocol, Clean Development Mechanism and the Building and Construction Sector – UNEP (2008): Buildings are responsible for more than one third of total energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions globally, both in developed and developing countries. The potential for drastic reductions of the energy consumption in buildings is significant. This report proposes changes to CDM which would allow CDM to support emission reduction projects in buildings and other similar sectors. Download PDF
• Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Hospitals and Healthcare Faciliites (2009): The Advanced Energy Design Guide series provides a sensible approach to easily achieve advanced levels of energy savings without having to resort to detailed calculations or analysis.  Download PDF
• The Green Guide to Specification, 4th Edition (2009). Wiley-Blackwell, London. Building Research Establishment (BRE). This fourth edition provides designers and specifiers with easy-to-use guidance on how to make the best environmental choices when selecting construction materials and components. The Green Guide to Specification provides robust information to assist decision-making by translating numerical life-cycle assessment data into a simple A+ to E scale of environmental ratings, enabling specifiers to make meaningful comparisons between materials and components.  Visit Web
• Living Building Challenge.  Developed by the Cascadia Chapter of the US Green Building Council. The Living Building Challenge is attempting to raise the bar and define the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment, using a benchmark of what is currently possible and given the best knowledge available today.  Projects that achieve this level of performance can claim to be among the ‘greenest’ anywhere, and will serve as role models to others that follow.  Visit Web
• Hospital Energy Alliance: Creating Energy Efficient High Performance Hospitals (2009). Through the Hospital Energy Alliance, the Department of Energy (DOE) is promoting the resources, tools, and strategies that our nation’s hospitals must have to identify clear pathways to cost and energy savings through efficient and renewable energy technology applications for both new and existing facilities. They author a series of reports and publications relevant to both new buildings and retrofits.  Visit Web
• Greener Hospitals: Improving Environmental Performance (2003). Edited by: Environment Science Center, with support of Bristol-Myers Squibb: This manual provides practical advice to help healthcare facilities improve their environmental management systems and performance. By clearly outlining the benefits of sharing best practices and developing formal environmental management systems, this document assists healthcare facilities in meeting the rising expectations of regulators and their local communities.

Books

• Sustainable Healthcare Architecture. Robin Guenther and Gail Vittori. New York: John Wiley (2008): The authors document a change in the profession that is as remarkable as it is swift-paced, because they present eloquent examples of sustainable architecture thriving in environments where it has the potential to do users the most good. Equally important, the book embodies the integrated, collaborative practice that makes green architecture possible, both in the presentation of the buildings and the book itself.
• Innovations in Hospital Architecture.  Stephen Verderber.  New York: Routledge (2010): This indispensable reference book captures key recent developments in the rapidly evolving field of sustainable hospital architecture. Today’s architects must provide hospitals which enable high quality care for diverse patient populations in carbon neutral care settings, and this book succinctly considers what needs to be done in order to meet that challenge. The contemporary hospital is viewed in the context of global climate change, the planet’s diminishing natural resources and the spiralling cost of operating healthcare facilities.
• Greening our Built World: Cost, Benefits, and Strategies (2009). Island Press. Greg Kats. 280 pp. This eye-opening book reports the results of a large-scale study based on extensive financial and technical analyses of more than 150 green buildings in the U.S. and ten other countries. It provides detailed findings on the costs and financial benefits of building green. According to the study, green buildings cost roughly 2% more to build than conventional buildings—far less than previously assumed—and provide a wide range of financial, health and social benefits. Includes chapter on healthcare cost data, authored by Adele Houghton, Gail Vittori and Robin Guenther.  Visit Web
• Urban Sprawl and Public Health (2004). Island Press: In Urban Sprawl and Public Health, Howard Frumkin, Lawrence Frank, and Richard Jackson, three of the nation’s leading public health and urban planning experts explore an intriguing question: How does the physical environment in which we live affect our health? The authors examine the direct and indirect impacts of sprawl on human health and well-being, and discuss the prospects for improving public health through alternative approaches to design, land use, and transportation.  Visit Web

Websites

• The Green Guide for Health Care. Visit Web
• UNEP, Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch, Buildings and Construction Initiative. Visit Web
• The Pharos Project. Visit Web
• Sustainable Healthcare Architecture. Visit Web
• UK BREEAM Health Care New Building Tool. Visit Web  and tool for existing buildings. Visit Web
• International BREEAM. Visit Web
• US Green Building Council, LEED for Healthcare. Visit Web
• Green Building Council of Australia, Green Star – Healthcare. Visit Web
• World Green Building Council. Visit Web
• HCWH-WHO, Health Hospitals, Healthy People, Healthy Planet: Addressing Climate Change in the Healthcare Setting. Download PDF
• Architecture 2030.  Visit Web