Content created by Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)
The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) Health Sector Resource Hub is a place where organizations committed to becoming more resilient and sustainable can find helpful resources and supports.
OCCHE envisions an American health sector that both: (1) adapts to increased crises and chronic stressors in service of its most vulnerable populations and (2) uses the best available evidence and technology to mitigate its own emissions. However, despite a growing recognition of the health problems associated with climate change and the need for action, many organizations – and particularly those serving the most at-risk communities – struggle to make investments in sustainability and resilience because of insufficient assistance or funding.
The Resource Hub is designed to help the health sector understand what resources, tools, and informational materials are available to accelerate the important work of emissions reduction and climate resilience. It includes the Compendium of Federal Resources, which reviews the relevant programs and policies and maps them to key steps in a health organization’s journey to meet the challenges of climate change. These steps align closely with the commitments of the White House-HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge. One important tool featured in the Compendium is Guidance for the Health Sector on using the Environmental Protection Agency’s free benchmarking tool ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager to track building-related energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Accelerating Healthcare Sector Action Webinar Series builds on the Compendium and features experts from across the government reviewing programs and policies in more detail, as well as answering questions. The Quickfinder for Leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for the Health Sector and the Catalytic Program on the IRA both explore how the landmark law’s billions of dollars in grants, loan programs, and tax credits can help transform the industry by significantly increasing access to funds that will create resilient and renewable infrastructure. The Referral Guide for Health Professionals on Protecting Vulnerable Patient Populations from Climate Hazards is a resource to inform education and referrals in clinical settings for patients who are vulnerable to climate change’s health impacts and the Roadmap to Addressing Scope 3 Emissions for Healthcare Organizations helps to identify and tackle the sources of those emissions that make up the majority of those from the sector.
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This Resource Hub will continue to evolve and grow with new resources, and we invite input on what additions would be most useful at OCCHE@hhs.gov.