Building a more sustainable health care model

(SACRAMENTO)

UC Davis Health has earned national recognition for its leadership in sustainability and community well-being. This extends beyond environmental initiatives and supports a broader commitment to community health through its Anchor Institution Mission. The mission's goal is to boost economically distressed communities in the region through local hiring, purchasing and investing.

This includes innovations in energy efficiency, waste reduction, transportation, purchasing, design and construction and clinical care.

Efforts to reduce single-use plastics included this recent distribution of reusable utensil kits for UC Davis Health employees.

Kristina Bair directs the UC Davis Health Sustainability Committee. The group works to create a resilient and sustainable health care model that celebrates the intersection between human and planetary health through community engagement and education.

"Sustainability is fundamentally about protecting and improving health," Bair explained. "From energy and building design to food recovery and waste reduction, we're finding innovative ways to reduce our environmental footprint while creating a more resilient health care system for our community."

Together, these initiatives, which align with the Anchor Institution Mission, are earning UC Davis Health national praise.

National awards highlight leadership

UC Davis Health recently received several significant awards for its sustainability progress:

• SMUD's First Clean Power City Business Champion Award

SMUD honored UC Davis Health with this award in recognition of the partnership between the two entities in the energy efficient design and planning of 48X and the Folsom Medical Care Clinic. The design innovations at these two facilities resulted in almost $200,000 in incentives, which created seed money for future sustainability improvement efforts.

• Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus designation

The Arbor Day Foundation named UC Davis Health a 2025 Tree Campus for its commitment to using trees and green spaces to support human health, environmental sustainability and broader community well-being. This work includes expanding the campus tree canopy, planting drought-tolerant vegetation, eliminating synthetic herbicides and hosting community tree-planting events.

• Practice Green Health Emerald Award

UC Davis Health earned this award in 2025 from Practice Green Health, which recognizes outstanding hospitals with advanced sustainability programs. UC Davis Health also received 2025 Circles of Excellence recognition in five categories: food, sustainable procurement, water, transportation and green building.

Bair emphasized the importance that collaboration played in these successes. "The progress we're seeing is the result of collaboration across our organization," she said.

Sustainability in action

The reusable utensil kits debuted in 2025 at the Scrubs East Café.

Examples of this collaborative sustainability work include:

• Expanding the tree canopy

In 2025, the UC Davis Health's Grounds Department planted more than 500 trees across the campus. This enhances air quality, provides more shade in public areas, reduces heat and creates healthier outdoor environments in the surrounding area.

• Diverting food to families in need

UC Davis Health's Food and Nutrition Services donates excess prepared food through our partnership with COPIA, a resource that connects surplus food to those who need it most. In fiscal year 2024-2025, UC Davis Health donated 16,898 pounds of food. This combats food insecurity within our community and reduces the amount of organic waste sent to landfills - a major source of methane emissions.

• Reducing single-use plastics

The Sustainability Committee is also working to cut back on single-use plastics. These efforts include the design and distribution of a reusable utensil kit for UC Davis Health employees. The Reusable Flatware Initiative debuted at Scrubs East Café in 2025 and resulted in the distribution of more than 4,000 kits. As a result, nearly 9,000 fewer disposable utensils were purchased when compared to the previous year. The project will continue in 2026 with distribution at Lawrence Ellison Café in the Ambulatory Care Center.

The reusable utensil kits are a big hit with employees. Thanks to their adoption, nearly 9,000 fewer disposable utensils were purchased in 2025.

One of the Sustainability Committee's long-term goals is a fossil fuel-free future. The plan is to electrify the health system's central plant by 2045 and purchase clean energy through SMUD. This would make UC Davis Health a zero net emissions operating campus, which would achieve a 90% emissions reduction, while improving air quality for the UC Davis Health campus and surrounding Sacramento community.

The Sustainability Committee will also host Earth Day events in April for staff and students, including events focused on green commuting and a sustainability walking tour.

Want to see UC Davis Health sustainability in action? Take the Virtual Walking Tour!

Additional information

UC Davis Health's Anchor Institution Mission operates in full compliance with California's Proposition 209, which prohibits discrimination against or giving preferential treatment to any individual or group in public employment, public education, or public contracting on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, national origin, or other protected identities. The AIM initiative also abides by federal anti-discrimination laws.