MUHC’s Royal Victoria Hospital obtains the Go Green Plus certification - A first in Canada for a health care institution
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is pleased to announce that the Royal Victoria Hospital was awarded the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada Go Green Plus certification at a gala held by BOMA yesterday in Montreal. The Royal Victoria is the first health care institution in Canada to receive such a certification, a testimony to its excellent buildings and facilities environmental management practices.
“Consistently advocating exemplary practices in all aspects of its activities, the MUHC has recently set the objective of becoming a standard for the country for environmental management,” said Serge Sévigny, MUHC Director of Technical Services. “Obtaining this certification confirms that we are on the right track and encourages us to proceed with meeting our environmental objectives at all our hospitals.”
The Go Green Plus Certification assesses concrete achievements in the environmental management practices of buildings in ten areas:
- Reduction in energy consumption;
- Reduction in water consumption;
- Management of construction waste materials;
- Recycling of fibrous products, consumable products and returnable containers;
- Management of hazardous materials;
- Utilization of recycled/healthy building materials;
- Management and reduction of ozone-depleting substances (ODS);
- Indoor air quality;
- Maintenance of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; and
- Implementation of a communications program on environmental issues.
Aiming for this recognition, the MUHC has adopted an environmental policy ensuring that its services are provided in a responsible fashion that minimizes environmental risks to human health and the environment. To that end, since 2003, over $5M has been invested at the Royal Victoria Hospital to implement a large-scale energy-savings program with the installation of energy-efficient equipment, improvement of the heating system, undertaking of preventive maintenance of existing machinery, and increased personnel training and awareness.
These efforts have helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Royal Victoria Hospital by 31.4%, equivalent to 12,000 tons of CO2, or the amount of pollution created each year by over 4,800 vehicles. Through this comprehensive plan, the MUHC is now ahead of the Kyoto Protocol targets that set Canada’s greenhouse gas reduction rate at 6%.
By certifying the Royal Victoria as Go Green Plus, BOMA Canada recognizes the hospital’s excellent building management practices and the MUHC’s environmental efforts. In May 2006, the Montreal General Hospital also set a milestone by becoming the first health care institution in Canada to be certified Go Green. The difference between the two certifications resides mainly in the practices having to be implemented and the required results.
The MUHC is committed to taking further steps in pursuing environmental certification for all its hospitals. An Environmental Committee, which has developed strategies to meet the MUHC’s green targets and currently supervises their implementation, is already in place.
Efforts deployed by the MUHC aim not only to implement best management practices with respect to sustainable development, but also to improve the services to patients, their families and the personnel, as well as to enhance the proactive management of resources.
About the MUHC
The MUHC is a comprehensive academic health institution with an international reputation for excellence in clinical programmes, research, teaching and technology evaluation. The MUHC is a merger of five teaching hospitals affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University: the Montreal Children’s, Montreal General, Royal Victoria, and Montreal Neurological hospitals, and the Montreal Chest Institute. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of the founding hospitals, the goal of the MUHC is to provide patient care based on the most advanced knowledge in the health care field and to contribute to the development of new knowledge. www.muhc.ca