Health. Destination. Sustainable development at CSSS de Chicoutimi LOCAL INITIATIVES. Destination Health E-Newsletter Vol.2 No.

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1 Destination Health E-Newsletter Vol.2 No.3 June A word from the coordinator Destination Health LOCAL INITIATIVES Sustainable development at CSSS de Chicoutimi CSSS de Chicoutimi, a health promoting institution, has undertaken to integrate sustainability into its organizational culture. This commitment follows from the finding that human health is closely linked to ecosystem health and to socioeconomic factors. By adopting management practices designed to protect the environment, foster social progress and contribute to economic development, the CSSS is striving to improve population health in its region. A key step in CSSS de Chicoutimi s strategy was to form a sustainable development committee. First, the CSSS s departments and services concerned with one or more of the 16 principles of sustainable development were identified; then a call was issued for individuals from these directorates interested in sitting on the committee. The committee is now composed of 13 very enthusiastic individuals, including a director, department heads, employees and a sustainable development consultant. For several years now, the Quebec Network of Health Promoting Institutions has focused on sustainable development issues. For instance, the Guide to Promoting Healthy Workplaces put forward an employerof-choice type strategy that includes sustainable development as one of its major components, alongside psychological health, physical health and lifestyle habits. Various programs designed to create healthy work environments have been implemented in our network s institutions and reflect this strategy. Last June 11 in Montréal, about 100 people attended a half-day session on food policies and sustainable development during which they shared knowledge and experiences related to the integration of sustainability into food service operations. This is one of the orientations of the terms of reference for the development of adapted food policies in institutions. This orientation encourages institutions to reduce food waste and minimize the environmental impacts of the food production supply storage preparation service cycle. During the session, several Montréal institutions discussed their innovative projects. Their presentations are available on the Director of Public Health s Web site as well as through the Québec network s site. There are other examples of institutions sustainable development initiatives, beyond those related to food policies (e.g. water and energy management, waste management, active transportation). This issue of Destination Health presents several initiatives that focus on environmental protection and that have been implemented by members of the Quebec Network of Health Promoting Institutions. This is indicative of a will to limit our ecological footprint. I encourage you to discover these excellent initiatives. Have a great, healthy and green summer! Dr. Richard Massé Director of public health Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal Coordinator, Quebec Network of Health Promoting Institutions

2 Destination Health E-Newsletter Vol.2 No.3 June Continued from page 1 Today, after two years of effort, sustainable development is now part of the CSSS s strategic planning. It can been seen in internal awareness raising campaigns, the adoption of a sustainable food policy, and services that give employees access to organic fruit and vegetables delivered directly to the CSSS by a local farmer. It is also visible in projects designed to eliminate paper waste, save energy, manage waste and water consumption, increase local sourcing, as well as encourage use of sustainable transportation and community gardens, and the involvement of the local sustainable development and community development consultants with regional community groups. At the top of CSSS de Chicoutimi s strategic planning orientations is its commitment to being a health promoting health and social services centre. Jewish General Hospital Implementation of an innovative energy efficiency project using renewable energies In 2012, determined to reduce its ecological footprint, the Jewish General Hospital in partnership with the firm Ecosystem embarked on the second phase of an energy efficiency project that integrated renewable energies. The project built on a first phase that included installation of an off-peak electric boiler, a heat recovery heat pump and a heating network that works at a lower temperature. Work will be carried out to improve the hospital s energy infrastructures; the goal is to save energy while complying with sustainable development imperatives. For instance, the open-loop geothermal system installed at the hospital is a significant accomplishment in the field of renewable energies. These measures provide many benefits: guaranteed savings; use of renewable energies; modernization of old equipment; reduction in energy and operating costs; reduction of natural gas consumption; possibility of selling carbon credits on the voluntary market. To find out more about the energy efficiency project, visit CSSS de la Montagne A policy to cut down on paper use and sustainably reduce consumption To reduce the negative environmental impacts linked to care and services provision and to systematize judicious use of resources, as per its policy on sustainable development, the CSSS de la Montagne s management and coordination committee adopted a paper-use policy to reduce paper consumption. Several actions have resulted: monitoring of annual paper use based on available statistics; printer option set to duplex printing by default; printing routed to centralized multi-function printers; purchase of Energy Star certified machines; virtualization of the computer system to extend the life of the equipment; development of forms to digitize patient records; control of printing at some sites; computerized administrative forms. See the policy:

3 Destination Health E-Newsletter Vol.2 No.3 June CSSS d Ahuntsic et Montréal-Nord A health promotion and wellbeing policy In May 2008, CSSSAM-N adopted a policy promoting health and sustainable development. It was revised four years later and now ensures that orientations are better integrated into a coherent whole that can act on the health goals of the organization (users, staff, community and environment) while also taking into account levels of interventions (individual, living environments, contexts and ecosystems). In March 2013, the policy was adopted by the board of governors and renamed health promotion and wellbeing policy; it confirms the CSSS s will to act from a sustainable development perspective. With seven years of experience and learning behind it, CSSSAM-N has reached a level where it can map its sustainable development strategy within the context of its mission to maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of the population by acting on individual and environmental determinants of health. Here are some examples of initiatives related to the government s sustainable development strategy, which includes nine orientations. Sustainable Development Schema CSSS AM-N Usagers en santé Environnement en santé Communautés en santé Personnel en santé Politique de promotion de la santé et du mieux-être Orientations Orientation 1 Inform, raise awareness, educate, innovate Orientation 2 Reduce and manage risks to improve health, safety and the environment Orientation 3 Produce and consume responsibly Orientation 4 Increase economic efficiency Orientation 5 Respond to demographic changes Orientation 6 Plan and develop the territory in a sustainable and integrated manner Orientation 7 Preserve and share the collective heritage Orientation 8 Encourage participation in community life Orientation 9 Prevent and reduce social and economic inequalities CSSS d Ahuntsic et Montréal-Nord: Examples of actions Over 600 articles of interest published in the internal newsletter Program to promote a culture of safety Energy efficiency plan and waste management plan Service optimization (e.g. Lean methodologies) Continual analysis of demographic characteristics and particularities thanks to a local population observatory Participation in urban revitalization projects (e.g. Quartier 21) In a context where many people will be retiring, implementation of the Lègue program to transfer skills to upcoming generations Take a leadership role in community development while adhering to values of solidarity, autonomy, democracy and social justice All local public health actions conducted with a perspective of reducing health inequalities

4 Destination Health E-Newsletter Vol.2 No.3 June Knowledge A B C A vocabulary of sustainable development A French-language terminology related to sustainable development, including some terms used exclusively in Québec, has been validated and made available thanks to a partnership established between the Office québécois de la langue française, Ministère du Développement durable, de l Environnement, de la Faune et des Parcs, and Bureau de normalisation du Québec. Provincial overview of sustainable development efforts Following adoption of the Sustainable Development Act (Act 118), the Government adopted a sustainable development strategy (Stratégie gouvernementale de développement durable ), which has been extended to Pursuant to this strategy, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux developed its sustainable development action plan. In this document, the Ministère lists the actions it will implement. In 2009, the Ministère developed a strategy designed to support and pool sustainable development initiatives through the health and social services network. It encouraged sustainable development initiatives and measured the level of commitment of network institutions. The proposed target was that 20% of institutions in the health and social services network adopt sustainable development processes. According to a survey conducted at the beginning of 2013, 43% of public institutions in Québec s health and social services network have already embarked on such a process, and 30 others have indicated they will soon be ready to do so. Organizing green events A health promoting institution is concerned about ensuring that sustainable development principles are applied when organizing meetings or any other events. Here are a few practical tips: Improving waste management practices See Recyc-Québec s financial assistance program: Useful tools Discover the BNQ approach to sustainable development in your institution. This approach offers a normative guide (Norme BNQ 21000) and an implementation methodology (Méthode BNQ 21000) designed to foster implementation of sustainable management practices in organizations and to transform organizational culture into one that is more socially responsible. This guide can be used to apply the 16 principles included in the Sustainable Development Act; it also takes Québec s specificity into account and follows guidelines established by various international frames of reference. For more information, go to

5 Destination Health E-Newsletter Vol.2 No.3 June Quebec Network Montréal Chapter Thematic meeting Last June 11, a half-day meeting on food policies and sustainable development was held to bolster the sustainable development efforts of Montréal institutions, more particularly the implementation of Orientation 2 of the terms of reference Miser sur une saine alimentation : une question de qualité. See the programs and presentations Fruixi delivers Québec s first strawberries of the season during the coffee break. During the three-month composting pilot-project, we diverted 8.2 tonnes of organic waste, or an estimated 32 tonnes per year. [Translation] Marie-Claude Fournier, Senior Public Health Consultant, CSSS du Coeur-de-l Île Montérégie Chapter CSSS Pierre-De Saurel, big winner of the San-Tech conference-exhibition This year, CSSS Pierre-De-Saurel won the energy efficiency management award at the 2013 San-Tech conference. Three CSSS buildings were retrofitted during a two-year project that took place from 2010 to As a result, through a series of targeted changes such as installing smart optical sensors for ventilation, heating and lighting systems, the CSSS has saved over $200,000 a year, reduced its energy consumption and cut its greenhouse gas emissions by almost 900 tonnes. The project follows an earlier change to T8 lighting. Plans for geothermal energy can now be considered. Last May 17, CSSS de la Haute-Yamaska was awarded an AQESSS prize in the Innovation Support services category for its waste management program. Since 2012, CSSS de la Haute-Yamaska has implemented an integrated approach that takes into consideration various types of waste. The success of this program is due to the contribution of a variety of sectors and stakeholders. This program, unique in the health and social services network, groups together and improves many internal policies and procedures; it also provides a framework for waste management, based on best practices. Destination Health is a tri-annual publication of the Quebec Network of Health Promoting Institutions of the Agence de santé et de services sociaux de Montréal. Editors: Richard Massé and Mireille Gaudreau Coordination and writing: Marie-Dominique Charier Special collaboration: Francine Hubert and Randala Mouawad, Direction de santé publique de l ASSSM Francis Belzile, CSSS Pierre-de-Saurel; Gilbert Filion, CSSS d Ahuntsic et Montréal-Nord; Frédérique Binette, CSSS de la Montagne; Georges Bendavid, Jewish General Hospital; Félix Saint-Hilaire, CSSS de Chicoutimi Graphic design and layout: Bivouac Studio Translation: Sylvie Gauthier - ISSN Contact us at reseauquebecoishps@ssss.gouv.qc.ca