Toward Carbon Negative

Our mission and values compel us to be good stewards of our resources and a model of stewardship. As a leader in health care, we at Providence are doing our part to make significant strides to reduce our carbon footprint and work toward carbon negative by 2030.

We developed the WE ACT framework to organize, mobilize, track, and report our greenhouse gas reduction efforts. Each letter in WE ACT represents a key reduction target.

To learn more about our efforts, follow the links below or check out our first environmental stewardship report.

See examples of WE ACT in action:

• Waste
• Energy & Water
• Agriculture & Food
• Chemicals
• Transportation
• Caring for Creation
• Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP)

Our significant commitment to environmental stewardship has been recognized by leading global sustainability organizations. We remain steadfast in our belief that a healthy planet is critical for the continued health of our communities and are committed to doing all we can to reduce pollution from health care delivery while building resilience in the communities we serve.

Providence has been honored with awards from Practice Greenhealth, Health Care Without Harm and achieved LEED and Energy Star standards in recognition of our ongoing commitment to reduce our carbon footprint and expand environmentally sound practices in our operations.

Our Built Environment

As leaders in health care, we know that healthy buildings foster a holistic healing environment for patients. Providence is committed to supporting the development of healthier, more energy efficient buildings that are good for the environment, caregivers, and patients.

• Swedish Issaquah Hospital is one of the most energy efficient hospitals in the nation and is carbon neutral for electricity and natural gas purchased, using locally sourced solar energy to power the campus and offsetting its minimal natural gas use though a local forest carbon sequestration project.
• Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center, Swedish Issaquah Hospital, Providence St. Peter Hospital, Covenant Children's Hospital, Covenant Health Grace Surgical Center, Covenant Specialty Hospital, Covenant Medical Center, all part of the Providence organization are powered by 100% renewable electricity.
• Providence was honored with Climate Champion Awards for renewable energy, climate resilience and climate leadership in 2020, 2021 and 2022 by Health Care Without Harm.
• Providence Newberg Medical Center became the first LEED Gold certified hospital in the country.
• Providence Holy Cross Medical Center named the first LEED Silver certification for building, design and construction of the new four-story, 138-bed hospital expansion in Southern California.
• Providence advocates for energy efficiency and decarbonization regulations pertaining to the healthcare built-environment
• Providence supports and advocates for water conservation, especially in water stressed communities. We completed water audits and initiated projects to reduce water use in Providence facilities.

Read our most recent results in our publicly available reports.