Gundersen’s Envision® Program: A Vision for Energy and ... · for Energy and Environmental...
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Gundersen’s Envision® Program: A Vision for Energy and Environmental Stewardship HISTORY Gundersen Health System is a comprehensive not-for- profit healthcare system including one of the nation’s largest multi-specialty group medical practices, a teaching hospital, regional community hospitals and clinics, behavioral health services, vision centers, pharmacies, and air and ground ambulances. Today, the Gundersen System comprises a 325-bed tertiary care hospital, 27 medical clinics, 830 providers, and 7,600 employees. Facilities are located throughout western Wisconsin, northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota caring for patients in 19 counties. Gundersen has been named among the Top 100 in the nation time and time again. THE ENVISION PROGRAM In 2008, CEO Jeff ompson and his management team, facing a number of factors including demand for new facilities, an energy bill of $5.3m with energy use increasing at about 4% per year, and demand for affordable healthcare, set a series of goals to reach energy independence while supporting the Gundersen mission. e result was the Envision Program, which was established with the following objectives: Innovative Advances in Sustainability: GUNDERSEN HEALTH SYSTEM Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin Industry: Medical Facility Size: 7,600 employees in North America Contacts: Jeff Rich, Executive Director, GL Envision “We did not set out to be the greenest health system. We set out to make the air better for our patients to breathe, control our rising energy costs and help our local economy. We believe we have made more progress on all three than anyone else in the country.” Jeff ompson, MD Chief Executive Officer, Gundersen Health System
Transcript of Gundersen’s Envision® Program: A Vision for Energy and ... · for Energy and Environmental...
Gundersen’s Envision® Program: A Vision for Energy and Environmental Stewardship
HISTORYGundersenHealthSystemisacomprehensivenot-for-profithealthcaresystemincludingoneofthenation’slargestmulti-specialtygroupmedicalpractices,ateachinghospital,regionalcommunityhospitalsandclinics,behavioralhealthservices,visioncenters,pharmacies,andairandgroundambulances.
Today,theGundersenSystemcomprisesa325-bedtertiarycarehospital,27medicalclinics,830providers,and7,600employees.FacilitiesarelocatedthroughoutwesternWisconsin,northeasternIowaandsoutheasternMinnesotacaringforpatientsin19counties.
GundersenhasbeennamedamongtheTop100inthenationtimeandtimeagain.
THE ENVISION PROGRAM In2008,CEOJeffThompsonandhismanagementteam,facinganumberoffactorsincludingdemandfornewfacilities,anenergybillof$5.3mwithenergyuseincreasingatabout4%peryear,anddemandforaffordablehealthcare,setaseriesofgoalstoreachenergyindependencewhilesupportingtheGundersenmission.TheresultwastheEnvisionProgram,whichwasestablishedwiththefollowingobjectives:
Innovative Advances in Sustainability: GUNDERSEN HEALTH SYSTEM
Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin
Industry: Medical Facility
Size: 7,600 employees in North America
Contacts: Jeff Rich, Executive Director, GL Envision
“We did not set out to be the greenest health system. We set out to make the air better for our patients to breathe, control our rising energy costs and help our local economy. We believe we have made more progress on all three than anyone else in the country.” Jeff Thompson, MDChiefExecutiveOfficer,GundersenHealthSystem
•Energyindependenceby2014-Producemorepowerthantheyconsumefromfossilfuelsources
-Improvetheenvironment
-Benefithumanhealth-Reduceenergycosts,whichtranslatestomoreaffordablehealthcaredelivery
-Relyonlocalresourcesandsupportthelocaleconomy
Inordertoachievethesegoals,CEOThompsonassembledatechnicalstaffledbyseveralex-TraneemployeesincludingprogramExecutiveDirectorJeffRichtolaunchtheEnvisionProgram,whichcomprisesthefollowingplan:
THE PLAN
1. Energy ManagementA.ThefirstphaseoftheEnergyManagement
programconsistedofenergyconservationprojectswhichprovidethebestreturns,withmanyopportunitiesforquicksuccesses,andbuildscredibilityforinvestmenttoexpandotherphasesoftheplan.Gundersenengineersconductedauditsofallfacilitiesandidentifiedthelargestopportunities,90%ofwhichexistedinsixbuildings.
Thegoalsofthisphasewereto:
•Supporttheirmission:reduceemissionstoimprovetheenvironmentandimprovehealth
•PurchaseBiogaslocallytosupportthelocaleconomy
•Savemoney•Buildemployeepride•Makehealthcaremoreaffordable•ReducewasteProjectsincludednewdatacenterdesigntoreducecoolingloads,lightingretrofitsreducingenergycostsby$265,000peryear,boilereconomizersandAHUdutyscheduling.However,theyquicklylearnedthat“you can’t reduce your way to zero”.Inotherwords,theyrealizedtheyhadtoundertakemoreinnovativeprojectstofocusonrenewableresources.
B.ThesecondphaseoftheEnergyManagementplanconsistedofarangeofRenewableResourceProjectsbasedonthefollowingprincipals:
•RenewableProjectscanhavelongerpaybacks•Utilizepartnershipstooptimizepaybacksandtakeadvantageofavailabletaxcredits
•UseLLC’sandwhollyownedorjointventurestoreducerisks,increasethevalueexperience,takeadvantageoftaxopportunitiesandmeetregulatoryrequirements
•Diversifyrisksthroughmultipleprojectsutilizingproventechnologiesinmultiplelocationsincludingwind,landfillgas,biomassboiler,geothermalandbiogasdairy(Seespecificexampleslaterinthisreport)
In2009GundersenformedGLEnvision,LLC,afor-profitLLCtoownandmanagetheirrenewablepartnershipprojects.
2. Waste Management and ControlGundersenchallengedstaffinallsegmentsoftheiroperationstoidentifywastemanagementopportunities.Projectsincluded:• Food waste reduction. Reduced food waste by
80%, with $34,000 annual savings • Hazardous pharmaceutical waste reduction.
Reduced pharmaceutical waste at a ratio of 14:1 from the baseline set in 2010
3. Recycling/Reuse/RemanufactureGundersenhasprovenitpaystorecycle.Theysavemorethan$36,000onwastehaulingcostsannually.Theirrecyclingprojectsinclude:•Paper and cardboard recycling. Recycle 477 tons
of paper and cardboard in 2012 •Cans, bottles, batteries, x-ray film, surgical blue
wrap, metals and pallets•Toner cartridges remanufactured and resused
saves the organization more than $130,000 annually
• Waste stream management operations and construction. Recycling saves $70,000 annually. Construction waste reduction programs diverted 90% of construction waste from landfills
• Remanufacturing/Reuse of devices saves $419,000 annually
2014 ResultsSAVINGS
Grid production: over 26M kWh Annual
Grid revenue: $1.8M in 2014
Emission impact: halved sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, mercury and particulate emissions from 2008 to 2014.
FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION
2008-2014
380M kbtu --- 240M kbtu
SQUARE FOOTAGE
2.06M sf --- 2.6M sf
Total savings compared to pre-program projections
$5.8M since 2008
$1.8M in 2014
*Hospitals are 2.5 times more energy intensive than other commercial buildings.
4. Sustainable Design and CommissioningHavingcompletedanumberofnewconstructionandremodelingprojectsinrecentyears,Envisionprogramstaffandfacilityengineershavelearnedtheycan’tassumenewbuildingsareefficient.Infact,someoftheirnewestbuildingswerethemostinefficient.Theylearnedtheownerhastotakeanactiverolein:
-Aligningincentivesfordesignersandcontractors-Focusingonthenewfacilitycommissioningprocess
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTSFollowingisanoverviewoftheimportantrenewableprojectscompletedbyGundersenandtheirpartnerssince2008.
Solar ProjectsLaCrossecampusundergroundparkingramp.Leedcertifiedlightingforparkinggarage.
DaycarecenterLaCrossesupplies85%ofhotwaterneeds.
TheRenalDialysiscenterinOnalaskaproduceshotwaterfordialysiscenterreducingnaturalgasconsumption.
Wind Projects13MkWhinCashton,WisconsinandLewiston,Minnesota.(2x2.5MWturbinesateachsite).
Biomass BoilerWoodchipboileronLaCrossehospitalcampus.Useslocallysourcedwoodchips.Produces2,250,000kWhannuallyand1,500,000thermsofheat.Paymentforwoodchipfueltolocalmillsis$800,000.
Geoexchange/heat pump156400-footdeepwellsundertheparkinglotatmaincampustoheatandcoolnewhospitalbuildingatmaincampus.
Landfill Gas ProjectInpartnershipwithLaCrosseCounty,pipedmethanegasunderhighwayI-90tonorthcampus.Produces8,000,000kWhannually.Paymentforgastothecountyis$250,000annuallyand115,000thermsofheat.
Dairy Manure Digester projectsPartneredwithdairiesinMiddletonandSunPrairie,Wisconsinon16MkWhand5MkWhprojectsrespectively.Removesphosphorusfromgroundwater,generatespowertothegrid,compostedfiberbyproductsareusedasanimalbeddingorsoilamendment.
Envision ServiceGundersen’sEnvisionteamhasamassedyearsofprofessionalexperiencewithsuccessfulhealthcareprojectimplementation.Theyarenowofferingtheirexpertisetootherbuildingownersthroughoutreachservicescomprisingnewfacilityenergydesignreviews,renewableenergyplanning,energysixsigmatraining,leadershipworkshopsandseminars.
Geothermal wells
Geothermalheat pump
Hospital
Innovative Advances in Sustainability: GUNDERSEN LUTHERAN HEALTH SYSTEM
Jeff RichExecutiveDirector,GLEnvisionGundersenHealthSystem1900SouthAvenueLaCrosse,WI54601(608)775-6970www.gundersenhealth.org
Energyserviceoutreach.
Recycledpaper
LESSONS LEARNED•Focusonenergyefficiencyfirst•Eachrenewabletechnologyhasprosandcons,sodiversifyyourinvestments
•Uselocalresourceswhereverpossible(woodchips,manureandlandfillmethane)
•Taketimetoconductduediligenceandfeasibilityanalysis,theyareworththeinvestment
•Sometimesyoucandomorewithpartnersthanbyyourself
References
ThemostcommonlyuseddefinitionofSustainabilityincorporatesthepreceptof “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”Thisisaprettyfarreachingstatementandisnotparticularlyhelpfultobusinessesdrivenbyproductiongoals,qualityimprovement,increasedefficiencyandcostcutting.Aswetalktothosebusinessleadersalreadyengagedinsustainabilityefforts,thetermstheytellusinclude:
(1)considertheentirelifecycleoftheproductandofphysicalassets;
(2)considertheeffectonthecommunityinfrastructure;(3)environmentalsolutionsmusthaveabusinesspurpose
andbringvaluetothebusiness;(4)youmusthavepassionforitandenablestafftobe
innovative.We’vefoundsustainabilityisaverybroadsubjectincorporatingproductdesign,procurement,production,packaging,logistics,facilitiesdesignandoperation,safety,health,leadership,employeeinvolvementandcommunitysupport.We’vealsolearnedthatwhilecompaniesexhibitingbestpracticesmaynothiteveryoneofthosemarks,theygetprettyclose.Sochooseadefinitionthatbestsuitsyourbusiness,butknowthatthecompanieswe’vetalkedwitharesuccessfulpartlybecauseoftheirpassionforsustainability,notinspiteofit.
What does
mean to businesses?SUSTAINABILITYSUSTAINABILITY
04/27/2015
