Honoree: Mid-Size – Healthcare Industry

Company Overview

Founded in 1894, Parkland Health & Hospital System is now one of the largest public hospital systems in United States. Parkland serves Dallas County, Texas residents, with an average of 1 million outpatients annually and more than 10,000 employees. In August 2015, Parkland opened its new sustainably designed, state-of-the-art facility. The 2.8-million-square-foot conservation-focused campus includes an acute care hospital licensed for 882 beds, outpatient center, logistics building, central utility plant, and a parking tower.

Sustainable Business Strategy 

Sustainability efforts at Parkland focus on three cornerstones that are used to guide their decision-making: community health and well-being, economic responsibility, and environmental conservation. These three pillars combine to fulfill their mission of being dedicated to the health and well-being of the individuals and communities entrusted to their care. They also have a vision to define the standards of excellence in public academic health systems, and their sustainability efforts attempt to fulfill this vision.

One aspect of Parkland’s culture is a mindset of stewardship. While many times this is directly related to economic and fiscal responsibility, it is closely connected with environmental conservation. For example, reducing energy usage or recycling positively impacts both the environment and the bottom line. In helping their employees make the connection between these two forms of stewardship, they have watched them become advocates for their sustainability programs.

Environmental Stewardship

In 2012, Parkland established a sustainability team, which has been integral to their sustainability strategy. Initially, the focus of Parkland’s sustainability program was to increase recycling rates. The program has evolved to include initiatives centered on energy conservation, green building standards and land conservation, among others.

The team creates, implements, maintains and expands the sustainability programs throughout the Parkland system. The team delivers supplies, collects select recyclables, provides staff training, collects data, creates programs, provides recommendations, and is the core of the system’s conservation efforts.  

Conservation Programs 

Sustainable Design

Parkland’s main campus features four LEED®¹ Gold Certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, totaling over 2.8 million square feet. The entire healthcare campus was sustainably designed so Parkland can efficiently manage and control solar heat gain. Construction used recycled local building materials, reducing the carbon footprint. These buildings—Parkland Memorial Hospital, WISH Clinic, Tower Parking Garage and Central Utilities Plant—reduce energy and water consumption and improve indoor air quality. e The central utility plant on the main campus of Parkland Memorial Hospital enables other campus buildings to utilize the energy savings initiatives implemented during the design of the LEED® Gold utility plant. 

In 2019, Parkland completed a large retro-commissioning project. The project utilized the existing building automation system to improve airflow throughout the building.  When the building opened in 2015, it was equipped with the latest technology, so no changes to the physical structure were needed. All of the changes were made within the existing system, which allowed major energy use reductions while eliminating the need to use additional resources. Retro-commissioning of the hospital’s main campus is estimated to save enough energy to power approximately 1,500 Texas homes each year following project completion. 

Parkland Memorial Hospital exhibits creative energy efficiency with its “daylighting” feature that automatically adjusts interior lights to the amount of sunlight entering the building, enabling the lights to dim or go off when the sun is shining. Low-emitting materials used on the interior of the building also improve indoor air quality.

Beyond building design, Parkland also practices conservation in native and adaptive landscaping that conserves an estimated 17 million gallons of water each year by reducing the need for irrigation. The project was recognized as the 2015 Distinguished Greenscape Project of the Year at the North Texas Recycling Awards. 

Parkland also has recycling and water-saving programs. Parkland recycles items such as toner cartridges, plastics, batteries, electronics, paper products, and more in an effort to reduce waste. Further, Parkland’s linen services department saves approximately 1 million gallons of water each month using a water reclamation system. The reclamation system also allows Parkland to reduce annual water heating costs by capturing the thermal energy stored in the reused water.

Building a Sustainable Future

Conservation has traditionally been economic or regulatory based.  While these factors still remain, Parkland has been moving toward a more proactive, non-regulatory approach.  

For example, when the new campus was built, one of the main themes was to “put the park back in Parkland.”  The concept allowed the development of approximately 8 acres of green space on the main campus, which includes a wellness garden outside the cafeteria.  All of the plants are native and drought-tolerant species that provide an estimated 60% reduction in water usage over a typical landscape project of the same size.  

Another example of a proactive approach to conservation at Parkland is the garden and farm stand program, implemented with the assistance of a grant provided by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Not only does this farm stand program encourage patients to improve their health by eating healthy produce, but it also promotes land conservation through sustainable gardening practices and pollinator gardens.

These types of proactive conservation choices are embraced by all levels of the organization, which is committed to continuing to be at the forefront of sustainability and conservation practices. 

Texan-Led Conservation

Parkland Health & Hospital System first opened its doors in 1894. The health system serves the Dallas community, and averages more than 60,000 hospital discharges and 1 million outpatient visits annually. By cultivating its diversity, inclusion and health equity efforts, Parkland enriches the health and wellness of the Texas communities it serves.

Definitions:

¹ LEED®, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building, community and home project types, LEED provides a framework to create healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings.