The University of Pittsburgh’s schools of the health sciences commemorated Earth Day with an event to launch the new Office of Sustainability in the Health Sciences.

Partnering with the University’s Office of Sustainability and the UPMC Center for Sustainability, the new office will represent Pitt and the teaching-hospital system in the National Academy of Medicine’s prestigious Climate Collaborative. This reinforces Pitt’s commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating climate-resilient infrastructure, while incorporating sustainability into health sciences education.

The new office will oversee sustainability efforts in the six health sciences schools. Michael Boninger, a physician-scientist who serves as associate dean for sustainability in the School of Medicine and chief medical sustainability officer at UPMC, among other appointments across the teaching-hospital system and University, will lead these efforts.

The office’s assistant dean is Noe Woods, an obstetrician/gynecologist and chair of Clinicians for Climate Action, which recently won an American Climate Leadership Award.

“Given that health care and associated research are responsible for approximately 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and represent the second-largest industry contributing to landfill waste worldwide, it’s imperative that we increase education, awareness and implementation of environmentally sustainable measures across all our mission areas,” said Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine.

“In addition to collaborating with the curriculum committee to offer a combination of coursework and experiential learning related to sustainability, this office will lead efforts to generate increased funding for sustainability research and interface with Pitt and community partners focused on environmental justice and dismantling climate change-related health inequities,” he said.

The University has robust sustainability and climate action plans outlining 68 sustainability goals, including carbon neutrality by 2037. As part of the Earth Day event, Aurora Sharrard, Pitt’s assistant vice chancellor for sustainability, announced that solar panels will be placed on the roof of Alan Magee Scaife Hall, which houses the School of Medicine, in the next year.

“It will generate electricity equivalent to that used by 23 homes annually,” she said during the April 22 event. “Rooftop solar on Scaife Hall and two other health sciences buildings currently under construction will also help the university further reduce global and local air pollutants and improve their cascading health benefits.”

Other University-wide efforts highlighted at the event included the Pitt Green Lab program, new green lab sample boxes, and pilot circular economy pipette tip recycling. The School of Medicine has committed to having every lab become a Pitt Green Lab to help build and embed a rich culture of sustainability into Health Sciences.  

“From medical to pharmacy to athletic training, our students want to learn more about practicing and living more sustainably,” Boninger said. “Our office will work to incorporate sustainability throughout the health sciences curriculums and offer new hands-on interdisciplinary opportunities to learn.”

Representing the way the new office will bridge the other schools of the health sciences, Maureen Lichtveld, dean of the School of Public Health, spoke about Pitt’s research on the impact of global warming on population health.

And she announced that the Pitt School of Public Health will serve as the coordinating academic institution of a new Pennsylvania One Health Consortium, which includes Penn State and the University of Pennsylvania, among others. One Health is a national effort of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that, within Pennsylvania, collaborates with state agencies and community leaders through a transdisciplinary portfolio of research, education and community outreach.

“The new Office of Sustainability will accelerate the transdisciplinary opportunities across the health sciences,” Lichtveld said.

Efforts are also underway in the year-old UPMC Center for Sustainability. One example: The hospital system eliminated the use of desflurane, a general anesthetic gas commonly used to help patients achieve a deep sleep for surgery, which is a greenhouse gas. UPMC introduced alternatives that are safe, effective and more environmentally friendly, which include intravenous medications and inhaled gases.

“The goal of this office is to graduate students with the eco literacy, expansive thinking and passion needed to fundamentally re-think the way we practice medicine,” Woods said. “We have to build a health care system that highly values the legacy it creates for the environment. We need to nurture the planet, just like we nurture our patients.”

Sharrard said: “With the University of Pittsburgh’s sustainability timeline stretching back over three decades, we are truly on a journey to embed sustainability throughout the University. Today’s new, deeper commitment by the schools of health sciences is an important milestone in the ongoing expansion of University-wide sustainability strategy, activities and partnerships, both academically and operationally. We are excited for Pitt Health Sciences to further advance Pitt’s sustainability efforts by embedding sustainability into research, the curriculum and the built environment.”

To learn more about Pitt health care professionals’ sustainability efforts, go to Clinicians for Climate Action.

Learn how students are playing a role in sustainability efforts in the health sciences.