By Ben Boulden
Nov. 22, 2022 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently joined more than 100 health care organizations nationwide in pledging to take action to decarbonize the health care sector and make their facilities more resilient to the effects of climate change.
In taking the White House/Department of Health and Human Services Health Sector Climate Pledge, UAMS formally has committed to pursuing the goal of reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The university already is well on the way to achieving that with a $150 million energy project, which has and will continue to reduce carbon emissions by reducing energy use. The project launched in November 2019 and is now progressing into its final phase.
Signing the pledge were 102 prominent health care organizations and companies in the U.S., including partners representing 837 hospitals as well as leading health centers, suppliers, insurance companies, group purchasing organizations, pharmaceutical companies and more. Federal health care systems combining efforts with these organizations means that more than 1,080 federal and private sector hospitals have made such commitments, together representing more than 15% of U.S. hospitals.
