Climate change is a threat to global public health. As one of the most significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, the health sector has an important role to play in tackling this threat.

A pioneer and innovator responsible for some of society's most important medical and technological advances, Stanford Medicine is committed to promoting the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve while safeguarding the environment for future generations.

We are, therefore, committed to carbon neutrality. In manifesting this commitment, Stanford Medicine can and will lead by example:

1. setting a standard for sustainable practices,
2. implementing innovative solutions, and
3. reducing the environmental impact of health care. And in so doing, Stanford Medicine has a set of targets that are owned by the leadership team.

While this achievement will be a significant sustainability milestone, we know this is just the beginning. In the years ahead, we will continue to explore, identify, and pursue ways to further reduce carbon emissions and the environmental impact of our value chain.

Through this undertaking, we will collaborate with the people we employ, the patients and communities we are privileged to serve, experts and thought leaders in environmental and public health, the Stanford University enterprise and the broader health sector.

View our achievements and progress here »

Stanford Medicine measures its greenhouse gas inventory annually and transparently communicates its results with its stakeholders via annual reporting. By signing on to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' pledge, Stanford Health Care committed to reducing its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030. In FY23, Stanford Health Care is completing inventories for its historical baseline year of 2012 and the intervening years to complete its emissions history. The inventories are compiled following the GHG Protocol, the global gold standard for emissions accounting. To learn more about the ins and outs of greenhouse gas inventory scopes, this video provides a primer.

Stanford Medicine has conducted annual GHG emissions inventories since 2008. However, with the evolution of the sustainability program, this effort was revisited and the scope was adjusted for 2020. When the new 2020 inventory was complete, which included Scope 1, Scope 2, and some of Scope 3 (excluding supply chain), six clear focus areas emerged. For five of the focus areas, the organization established a corresponding multi-year target and a cross-functional workgroup. Additionally, because sustainability is a shared responsibility, the need to create a culture of sustainability was also established as a sixth programmatic priority.