Dignity Health will participate in meetings concurrent with the COP21
Paris Climate Conference
Dignity
Health, one of the nation’s largest health systems, today announced
it will restrict investments in thermal coal companies, and expand
investments in sustainability-focused asset managers and investment
opportunities addressing climate change. The non-profit health system
has recently strengthened its advocacy efforts by urging portfolio
managers to include environmental sustainability into their investment
decisions. This new screen against thermal coal has led Dignity Health
to divest its holdings in a number of companies, and to restrict further
investment in the industry.
“Our healing mission requires us to recognize the impact of climate
change as a prominent public health issue,” said Shelly Schlenker, vice
president of public policy, advocacy and government affairs at Dignity
Health. “Because of this, we’ve taken a hard look at our environmental
policies and taken steps to ensure that we limit our relationships with
the worst environmental offenders.”
As a recognized environmental sustainability leader for more than 20
years, Dignity Health will be attending meetings concurrent with the
21st Session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris, France. Dignity
Health will participate in the following panel presentations:
-
Low Carbon Health Care Conference (Dec. 3, 2015)
-
Corporate Climate Leadership in America (Dec. 4, 2015, 1:30pm – 2:30pm
CET)
-
Health Care Climate Leadership Roundtable: Governance and Financing of
the Energy Transition (Dec. 4, 2015, 3:30pm – 4:30pm CET)
“With roots in the Catholic tradition, we are proud of our comprehensive
efforts to address climate change as a moral responsibility to protect
the planet and create a safe living environment,” said Sister Susan
Vickers, RSM, vice president of corporate responsibility, Dignity
Health. “So we will continue advocating for aggressive strategies that
will directly reduce the risk to public health. We hope our actions will
inspire other health care organizations to reevaluate their
environmental policies. We believe that by working together, large
organizations like ours can have a significant impact on improving
sustainability.”
“Dignity Health’s decision to screen out coal from its portfolio signals
a new era in which health care aligns its mission to heal with its
financial investments," said Gary Cohen, Founder and President of Health
Care Without Harm. "For 20 years, Dignity Health has led the movement
for environmentally responsible health care and once again, they have
shown us that healing our climate is central to the mission of health
care.”
Dignity Health has been widely recognized for its efforts to reduce
waste and develop and implement pollution prevention programs across its
39 hospitals to improve the health of patients, staff, and communities.
It has pledged to increase its use of renewable energy to 35 percent and
to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 – a goal
that the organization is already on track to surpass.
Dignity Health is also a sponsor of the Healthier Hospitals Initiative,
which guides hospitals to reduce energy and waste, choose safer and less
toxic products, and purchase and serve healthier foods. In its
legislative advocacy efforts, Dignity Health helped influence the
passage of SB 350 in California, a landmark bill that will increase both
the state’s renewable energy use and energy efficiency in buildings by
50 percent.
"Dignity Health has shown a tremendous commitment to responsible and
sustainable business practices, especially when it comes to taking
concrete action to address climate change,” said California State Senate
President Kevin de León. “I want to thank Dignity Health for being the
first hospital network to endorse Senate Bill 350 this session, for
rallying business support for California’s climate leadership, and now,
for following the state’s lead and divesting from coal. We need more
businesses to show the same integrity and leadership on this issue.”
About Dignity Health
Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest health care systems, is a
21-state network of nearly 9,000 physicians, 59,000 employees, and more
than 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational
care, imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing
compassionate, high-quality and affordable patient-centered care with
special attention to the poor and underserved. In FY15, Dignity Health
provided $1.7 billion in charitable care and services. For more
information, please visit our website at www.dignityhealth.org.
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