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The connection between human health and environmental health has never been more widely understood than it is today, says Janet Brown, director of sustainable operations for Practice Greenhealth (www.practicegreen health.com), a nonprofit organization that promotes environmentally sound health care practices. Hospitals, which operate 24/7 and represent one of the largest sectors for construction spending in the United States, are recognizing the health care industry’s impact on energy use and natural resources.
Those wanting to specify green products for their facilities have a number of tools at their disposal. Practice Greenhealth offers a variety of resources, culminating in the Green Guide for Health Care (www.gghc.org), a free toolkit for environmentally sensitive facility design, construction and operations.
In collaboration with the Green Guide for Health Care, the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org) is developing a health care design and construction certification standard as part of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program.
The nonprofit Healthy Building Network (www.healthybuilding.net), an advocate for healthier building materials, also has a number of resources for health care. These include detailed product listings, such as alternatives to building materials that contain formaldehyde and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Greg Roberts, AIA, FCSI, ACHA, LEED AP, principal and specifications manager with WHR Architects Inc., Houston, stresses the importance of standards or metrics when specifying green products. These criteria help a facility objectively determine whether a particular product meets the institution’s goals for sustainability.
Many groups certify products’ environmental qualities. The Energy Star program (www.energystar.gov), a joint venture of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, for example, identifies energy-efficient products. The FloorScore and Green Label programs from the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (www.rfci.com) and the Carpet & Rug Institute (www.carpet-rug.org) certify products’ volatile organic chemical emissions for indoor air quality. Green Seal (www.greenseal.org) is an independent, nonprofit organization that establishes scientifically based environmental standards it uses to certify a variety of products. And the Sustainable Materials Rating Technology (SMaRT) standard, by the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (http://mts.sustainableproducts.com), certifies products based on multiple environmental, social and economic benefits throughout the products’ entire life cycle and supply chain.
Frank Trevisani, ICE, manager of building service contractors for Spartan Chemical Company Inc. (www.spartanchemical.com), Maumee, Ohio, a producer of Green-Seal certified cleaners, says independent, third-party certifications have helped the green movement become successful by ensuring the safety and effectiveness of environmentally responsible products.
Cooper Lighting (www.cooperlighting.com), Peachtree City, Ga., offers a number of energy-efficient lighting products, including a new Halo LED recessed downlight. The company also has an LED version of its Fail-Safe Visual Therapy Luminaires, which feature illuminated photographic images. Jennifer Butler, marketing manager for Cooper Lighting Healthcare Solutions, says that LEDs are appropriate for various hospital areas, including corridors, patient rooms and recovery rooms. Because these lights can run for years without needing to be replaced, they can deliver both energy savings and lower maintenance costs, she says.
Lower maintenance costs and environmental benefits can also be realized with microfiber cleaning products from Rubbermaid Commercial Products (www.rcpworksmarter.com), Winchester, Va. Mark Hoyle, senior product manager for the microfiber line, says the Rubbermaid Pulse Floor Cleaning System uses 95 percent less cleaning solution and 90 percent less water than a standard mop and bucket, and microfiber pads can be laundered up to 500 times, versus 60 washings for a high-quality string mop. Durability is a key facet of being green, as durable products create less waste, says Lara Sutherland, director of environmental purchasing consulting for Practice Greenhealth.
For carpets, Rubbermaid has launched a new line of upright and backpack vacuums that are all Green Label-certified.
Amtico International (www.amtico.com), Coventry, England, manufactures its eco-polymeric Stratica flooring in Madison, Ga. In addition to being PVC-free, this material has no volatile organic compound emissions and requires less water to maintain than conventional flooring because it requires no stripping or waxing, says David Voll, Amtico senior marketing manager.
In the past year, Forbo International (www.forbo.com), Barr, Switzerland, has had its Marmoleum family of flooring products certified to the strict requirements of the SMaRT sustainable products standard, says Tim Cole, the company’s director of environmental initiatives and product development. “The reason we supported [SMaRT] is you have to have life-cycle analysis done on your product, so you know exactly what your environmental footprint is,” he says.
Forbo flooring is used in the Green Patient Room, a concept room designed by architecture firm Anshen + Allen, San Francisco, that has been displayed at several industry trade shows, including the American Society for Healthcare Engineering and AIA Academy of Architecture for Health’s International Conference and Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design and Construction in Orlando, Fla., this spring.
Suzanne Drake, IIDA, LEED AP, lead designer and project manager for the Green Patient Room, says ideas used in the room have been used in other Anshen + Allen projects, but the firm put them all together for the first time in the concept room, which showcases a holistic vision for health care interiors.
In addition to Forbo flooring, the room features a demountable wall panel system by Gravity Lock Systems Inc. (www.gravitylock.com), Houston, and Opus casework from Nurture by Steelcase Inc. (http://nurture.steelcase.com), Grand Rapids, Mich. The wall system and casework are modular, resulting in efficient use of materials.
The room’s sleeper sofa, from Nemschoff Inc. (www.nemschoff.com), Sheboygan, Wis., is upholstered in a faux leather, PVC-free polyurethane-based material. The caregivers’ stool, by Sittris (www.sittris.com), Toronto, is covered with hygienic, easy-to-clean silicone applied to the surface in a patented process.
Avonite Surfaces (www.avonitesurfaces.com), Florence, Ky., a product group of Aristech Acrylics, also of Florence, provided solid surface countertops for the room that are manufactured from recycled content.
Increased demand for these types of products allows health facilities to exert considerable power in the marketplace. “That’s exciting, because we now can start to shift markets to identify more responsible materials and products and services,” Brown says. “Hospitals are realizing that you can do the right thing for the environment and you can follow your business plan.”
This article first appeared in the October 2008 issue of HFM.
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