Greening Initiatives Reduce Health Care Costs, Support Sustainable and Efficient Operations

Burlington, VT – University of Vermont Health Network’s industry-leading efforts to make health care more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly are saving the health system tens of thousands of dollars each year – and have once again earned Vermont’s only academic medical center national recognition for innovations and programs pioneered by University of Vermont Medical Center.

UVM Medical Center has again been named one of the nation’s top 25 sustainable health care organizations by Practice Greenhealth, the industry’s leading nonprofit focused on environmental stewardship in health care. The award is the organization’s highest honor for hospitals. It highlights innovations that embody environmental values deeply held throughout the region of more than 1 million people in Vermont and northern New York served by the health system.

In earning a Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award for 2025, UVM Medical Center joins some of the nation's most prestigious medical institutions. The recognition spotlights programs and initiatives that showcase the health system’s commitment to environmental stewardship, as well as the financial impact of making sustainability and efficiency a focus of hospital operations.

“This award is more than recognition. It’s validation that sustainability and financial responsibility go hand in hand,” said Diane Imrie, interim network director of sustainability. “Every project we’ve undertaken is about doing the right thing for the planet, our patients, and our bottom line.”

The sustainability initiatives range from energy-efficient lighting, upgrades to an anesthesia delivery system, LEED-certified buildings and programs that reduce downstream impacts like the carbon footprint of fossil fuels used to haul waste and compost to and from landfills and recycling centers.

The results: tens of thousands of dollars in savings each year.

Energy efficiency

LED lighting upgrades at Milton Family Practice, radiology patient rooms at UVM Medical Center and the hospital’s Holly Court supply warehouse have already delivered substantial savings.

The Holly Court project reduced electricity use at the facility by 80 percent, eliminating 881,000 kilowatt-hours of energy use and 653,000 pounds of carbon emissions per year. The reductions save $90,000 in utility costs annually.

The health system has also prioritized energy education through the Miller Inpatient Building's online energy dashboard and presented findings on energy-efficient design's impact on patient outcomes at a health care industry conference in New England.

Anesthesia emissions reduction

Nitrous Oxide is a key anesthesia gas and also one of the most potent manmade greenhouse gases and accounts for a significant portion of hospital’s ozone-depleting emissions, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

UVM Medical Center recently tackled this significant challenge, replacing an outdated piping system that previously carried Nitrous oxide into operating rooms. The hospital’s new delivery system for the gas uses small e-cylinders mounted directly on anesthesia machines.

The upgrade has reduced Nitrous Oxide purchases at the hospital by 88 percent and eliminated emissions equivalent to 483 metric tons of carbon dioxide — roughly equal to the carbon footprint of 65 homes.

The work is especially significant amid an emerging understanding of nitrous oxide’s role accelerating climate change. A study published in 2024 found that emissions of the gas grew 40 percent between 1980 and 2020 – though researchers noted that its impact on global warming is small compared to carbon dioxide.

The upgrades will save UVM Medical Center $10,207 annually.

Water system monitoring improvements

In 2024, UVM Medical Center partnered with a local engineering firm on a comprehensive survey of its domestic water system. The work produced a detailed infrastructure assessment and identified opportunities to make the hospital’s water system more resilient and efficient.

Led by the Facilities team, UVM Medical Center installed advanced smart meters that improve real-time monitoring and leak detection. A full survey of the hospital’s steam system found that only 6% of steam traps required repair.

The work affirmed the effectiveness of the hospital’s long-range facilities plan, as well as ongoing maintenance focused on minimizing energy losses and maximizing efficiency.

Waste reduction

Based on work pioneered by UVM Medical Center’s Environmental Services (EVS) team, waste reduction strategies have cut hauling fees and streamlined disposal costs across the network. Most recently, the hospital achieved zero percent contamination in its compost stream this year. The achievement eliminates the need to haul compost materials to facilities that sort and process waste – reducing such trips overall by half and shrinking the program’s carbon footprint.

The EVS team also partnered with Casella on a mattress recycling initiative, diverting 80 mattresses, or over one ton of waste, from the landfill.

The initiatives demonstrate how targeted waste management improvements deliver both environmental benefits and cost savings.

A long history of sustainability and efficiency

This year's recognition of UVM Medical Center with Practice Greenhealth’s Top 25 Award is particularly significant, as the hospital expands its award-winning strategies across the health system. The expansion represents a system-wide commitment to the proven approaches that have made UVM Medical Center a consistent standout in environmental performance. The hospital has been named among the nation’s health care leaders for sustainability each year for nearly a decade.

“This work isn’t an ‘extra’,” said Imrie. “It’s operational excellence. We’re showing that climate-smart health care is just smart health care. It saves money, improves system performance, and aligns with our mission. It’s a network-wide effort, and it’s making us stronger.”