GHC Forum 2025: Planning Climate Action in Challenging Times

GHC Forum 2025: Planning Climate Action in Challenging Times

Join fellow hospitals, clinicians, utility companies and industry leaders for a day of insight, strategy, and collaboration, focused on addressing barriers and taking action to lower hospital utility costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions. The Forum will highlight successful projects, top-performing facilities, emerging policies, and the collaborative frameworks that make sustainable healthcare possible.

With climate change and rising energy costs as urgent imperatives, this annual gathering offers practical tools and powerful inspiration for hospitals striving to deliver better care while reducing their carbon footprint.

Agenda:

8:00 am – Registration and Breakfast

8:45 am – Welcome and Keynote

Setting the Stage for Action

We open with a high-level look at the trends, challenges and opportunities facing healthcare energy systems. This session offers an overview of current trends, real emissions and energy use numbers, and a clear call to action for leadership across the sector.

Topics include:

• Framing the climate and energy imperatives for the healthcare sector, and the urgency to act now

• Energy and emissions trends, and using the numbers to inform policy, planning and programs

• Visioning the low carbon future, and the energy transition which is taking us there

• Planning through uncertainty with examples of leadership and champions

9:45am – Delivering Highly Efficient New Hospitals

Building for Performance

New hospital construction offers enormous potential, but only if we design and deliver with energy performance in mind from the outset. This session will profile high performance case studies, regional leadership, project-level learning, and insights from our national research.

Topics include:

• Plenary session with case studies from across North America and the UK

• Net Zero Foundations research update: insights and learnings from more than 50 recently built hospitals and practical pathways to net zero emissions for hospitals

• How to set and deliver high performance energy performance targets

10:30 am – Coffee and Networking Break

11:00 am – Clinicians and Organizational Alignment

Driving Change from the Board Room to the Operating Room to the Boiler Room

Energy performance isn’t just a technical challenge; it’s an organizational one. This session focuses on creating alignment between clinicians, facilities teams, executives, and local community including indigenous partners, working together towards net-zero emissions.

Topics include:

• The role of clinicians in influencing capital planning, design and operations

• Vertical organizational alignment, when strategy meets execution

• Community and Foundation engagement, partnerships, and knowledge sharing

• Case studies of integrated, whole-organization approaches

12:00 pm – Lunch

1:00 pm – Profiles of Our Most Energy Efficient Member Hospitals

Celebrating what’s Working

Recognition is a powerful motivator and a proper reward for success. This session highlights hospitals that are already leading in energy efficiency with transparent data, compelling results, and transferable lessons.

Topics include:

• Case studies showcasing different strategies yielding similar results

• What sets high performers apart and how to replicate their success

1:45 pm – Carrots and Sticks: Project Funding and Regulations

Financing and Policymaking for the Energy Transition

Policy and finance are driving the pace of change. This session will unpack the latest regulations, incentives, and funding mechanisms that are reshaping how hospitals plan and pay for their energy future.

Topics include:

• Project Financing: efficiency-first driving operational savings, green revolving funds and continuous reinvestment models, utilities incentives, infrastructure renewal and the evolution of ESCOs and P3 contracts

• Understanding codes and regulatory pressures: New York City’s Local Law 97, Toronto’s Green Standard and Building Emissions Performance Standards, emerging provincial frameworks, policies and programs of leading jurisdictions

2:30 pm – Coffee and Networking Break

3:00 pm – Successful Collaborations

Working Together for Results

The complexity of hospital energy projects demands strong partnerships. This session will explore real-world collaborations between hospitals, vendors, utilities, and government and share what made them work.

Topics include:

• Hospital/industry partnerships leading to measurable outcomes

• Lessons from Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) and ESCO contracts

• Coordination across clinical, operational, and financial stakeholders

• Real world case studies

4:00 pm – Forum Closing and Setting Goals for 2026

• Goals, accountabilities, scorecards and communications to keep everyone informed and on track

4:15 pm to 6:00 pm – Cocktail Reception for Reflections and Networking

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