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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) focuses on sustainable and efficient operations and programs to reduce the Agency’s climate impact and uphold the HHS mission of enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans.
What does Sustainability mean?
Sustainability means living in such a way now that does not sacrifice the well-being of future generations; that is, to meet the needs in the present within the Earth’s closed system while restoring, protecting, and maintaining the natural systems, services, and resources that make life possible, including clean air, clean water, and clean soil. Sustainability goes hand-in-hand with the HHS mission to enhance the health of all Americans.
Areas of Focus
HHS works diligently to integrate Sustainability and Climate adaptation into Agency operations, administration, and programs. The following are a few of the primary areas of focus:
- Lowering greenhouse gas emissions in laboratories, hospitals, and offices
- Ensuring sustainable acquisitions and grants
- Minimizing the climate impacts of health programs and initiatives
- Promoting a climate-literate workforce
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions of Agency transportation
- Minimizing waste generation through source reduction, reuse or composting, and recycling.
Sustainability and Climate Reports and Progress Data
Executive Order (EO) 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, and EO 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability, set forth a government-wide approach to address the climate crisis and require agency climate reporting. HHS developed climate and sustainability reports outlining concerted efforts to enhance resilience and adaptation to climate change throughout HHS’s activities, which you can view on the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Agency Progress webpage.
By statute, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) publishes agency progress and scorecards on federal agency performance on energy efficiency and Sustainability. You may also view the HHS Sustainability Scorecard on the CEQ Agency Progress webpage, and highlights of HHS’s progress toward energy and sustainability goals in the following categories: greenhouse gas emissions, carbon pollution-free electricity acquisitions, zero-emissions vehicles acquisitions, facility energy use, facility water use, sustainable federal buildings, and investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Additional Resources
Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE)
The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health established OCCHE on August 30, 2021, in response to EO 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. This is the first Office of its kind at the national level to address climate change and health equity. The Office’s mission is to protect vulnerable communities that disproportionately bear the brunt of pollution and climate-driven disasters, such as drought and wildfires, at the expense of public health.