Green Teams

At the core of sustainability is engagement, team building, and continuous improvement. With a mission of healing humanity through science and compassion, and a dedication to service excellence via CI-CARE, it is no wonder that Stanford Health Care has sprouted numerous Green Teams since adopting its first sustainability strategy in 2020.

A Stanford Health Care Green Team is a group of sustainability advocates within a common work location, department, or specialty who collaborate on improving the sustainability of their sphere of influence by implementing self-directed process improvements. These activities are not guided nor funded by the Sustainability Program Office (SPO), but the SPO does support and advise the teams on a variety of topics.

The teams take many forms. Whether focused on specific internal initiatives, awareness of sustainability issues, or pledging to take sustainability action as individuals, Stanford Health Care Green Teams are building a culture of sustainability within Stanford Health Care while improving health care. Some notable contributions from our Green Teams are below.

The first Green Team, the Anesthesia Green Team, which continues to meet monthly, focuses on impactful, data-driven, achievable improvements in the Interventional Platform. They use clinical improvement tools of peer engagement and education, process improvement, and cost-benefit analysis to achieve their aims. The team has reduced the carbon footprint of anesthetic gasses, introduced reusable products in the operating room, and launched blue wrap recycling since its inception in 2019.