gundersen’s envision® program: a vision for energy and ... · for energy and environmental...

Gundersen’s Envision® Program: A Vision for Energy and Environmental Stewardship

HISTORYGundersenHealthSystemisacomprehensivenot-for-profithealthcaresystemincludingoneofthenation’slargestmulti-specialtygroupmedicalpractices,ateachinghospital,regionalcommunityhospitalsandclinics,behavioralhealthservices,visioncenters,pharmacies,andairandgroundambulances.

Today,theGundersenSystemcomprisesa325-bedtertiarycarehospital,27medicalclinics,830providers,and7,600employees.FacilitiesarelocatedthroughoutwesternWisconsin,northeasternIowaandsoutheasternMinnesotacaringforpatientsin19counties.

GundersenhasbeennamedamongtheTop100inthenationtimeandtimeagain.

THE ENVISION PROGRAM In2008,CEOJeffThompsonandhismanagementteam,facinganumberoffactorsincludingdemandfornewfacilities,anenergybillof$5.3mwithenergyuseincreasingatabout4%peryear,anddemandforaffordablehealthcare,setaseriesofgoalstoreachenergyindependencewhilesupportingtheGundersenmission.TheresultwastheEnvisionProgram,whichwasestablishedwiththefollowingobjectives:

Innovative Advances in Sustainability: GUNDERSEN HEALTH SYSTEM

Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin

Industry: Medical Facility

Size: 7,600 employees in North America

Contacts: Jeff Rich, Executive Director, GL Envision

“We did not set out to be the greenest health system. We set out to make the air better for our patients to breathe, control our rising energy costs and help our local economy. We believe we have made more progress on all three than anyone else in the country.” Jeff Thompson, MDChiefExecutiveOfficer,GundersenHealthSystem

•Energyindependenceby2014-Producemorepowerthantheyconsumefromfossilfuelsources

-Improvetheenvironment

-Benefithumanhealth-Reduceenergycosts,whichtranslatestomoreaffordablehealthcaredelivery

-Relyonlocalresourcesandsupportthelocaleconomy

Inordertoachievethesegoals,CEOThompsonassembledatechnicalstaffledbyseveralex-TraneemployeesincludingprogramExecutiveDirectorJeffRichtolaunchtheEnvisionProgram,whichcomprisesthefollowingplan:

THE PLAN

1. Energy ManagementA.ThefirstphaseoftheEnergyManagement

programconsistedofenergyconservationprojectswhichprovidethebestreturns,withmanyopportunitiesforquicksuccesses,andbuildscredibilityforinvestmenttoexpandotherphasesoftheplan.Gundersenengineersconductedauditsofallfacilitiesandidentifiedthelargestopportunities,90%ofwhichexistedinsixbuildings.

Thegoalsofthisphasewereto:

•Supporttheirmission:reduceemissionstoimprovetheenvironmentandimprovehealth

•PurchaseBiogaslocallytosupportthelocaleconomy

•Savemoney•Buildemployeepride•Makehealthcaremoreaffordable•ReducewasteProjectsincludednewdatacenterdesigntoreducecoolingloads,lightingretrofitsreducingenergycostsby$265,000peryear,boilereconomizersandAHUdutyscheduling.However,theyquicklylearnedthat“you can’t reduce your way to zero”.Inotherwords,theyrealizedtheyhadtoundertakemoreinnovativeprojectstofocusonrenewableresources.

B.ThesecondphaseoftheEnergyManagementplanconsistedofarangeofRenewableResourceProjectsbasedonthefollowingprincipals:

•RenewableProjectscanhavelongerpaybacks•Utilizepartnershipstooptimizepaybacksandtakeadvantageofavailabletaxcredits

•UseLLC’sandwhollyownedorjointventurestoreducerisks,increasethevalueexperience,takeadvantageoftaxopportunitiesandmeetregulatoryrequirements

•Diversifyrisksthroughmultipleprojectsutilizingproventechnologiesinmultiplelocationsincludingwind,landfillgas,biomassboiler,geothermalandbiogasdairy(Seespecificexampleslaterinthisreport)

In2009GundersenformedGLEnvision,LLC,afor-profitLLCtoownandmanagetheirrenewablepartnershipprojects.

2. Waste Management and ControlGundersenchallengedstaffinallsegmentsoftheiroperationstoidentifywastemanagementopportunities.Projectsincluded:• Food waste reduction. Reduced food waste by

80%, with $34,000 annual savings • Hazardous pharmaceutical waste reduction.

Reduced pharmaceutical waste at a ratio of 14:1 from the baseline set in 2010

3. Recycling/Reuse/RemanufactureGundersenhasprovenitpaystorecycle.Theysavemorethan$36,000onwastehaulingcostsannually.Theirrecyclingprojectsinclude:•Paper and cardboard recycling. Recycle 477 tons

of paper and cardboard in 2012 •Cans, bottles, batteries, x-ray film, surgical blue

wrap, metals and pallets•Toner cartridges remanufactured and resused

saves the organization more than $130,000 annually

• Waste stream management operations and construction. Recycling saves $70,000 annually. Construction waste reduction programs diverted 90% of construction waste from landfills

• Remanufacturing/Reuse of devices saves $419,000 annually

2014 ResultsSAVINGS

Grid production: over 26M kWh Annual

Grid revenue: $1.8M in 2014

Emission impact: halved sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, mercury and particulate emissions from 2008 to 2014.

FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION

2008-2014

380M kbtu --- 240M kbtu

SQUARE FOOTAGE

2.06M sf --- 2.6M sf

Total savings compared to pre-program projections

$5.8M since 2008

$1.8M in 2014

*Hospitals are 2.5 times more energy intensive than other commercial buildings.

4. Sustainable Design and CommissioningHavingcompletedanumberofnewconstructionandremodelingprojectsinrecentyears,Envisionprogramstaffandfacilityengineershavelearnedtheycan’tassumenewbuildingsareefficient.Infact,someoftheirnewestbuildingswerethemostinefficient.Theylearnedtheownerhastotakeanactiverolein:

-Aligningincentivesfordesignersandcontractors-Focusingonthenewfacilitycommissioningprocess

RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTSFollowingisanoverviewoftheimportantrenewableprojectscompletedbyGundersenandtheirpartnerssince2008.

Solar ProjectsLaCrossecampusundergroundparkingramp.Leedcertifiedlightingforparkinggarage.

DaycarecenterLaCrossesupplies85%ofhotwaterneeds.

TheRenalDialysiscenterinOnalaskaproduceshotwaterfordialysiscenterreducingnaturalgasconsumption.

Wind Projects13MkWhinCashton,WisconsinandLewiston,Minnesota.(2x2.5MWturbinesateachsite).

Biomass BoilerWoodchipboileronLaCrossehospitalcampus.Useslocallysourcedwoodchips.Produces2,250,000kWhannuallyand1,500,000thermsofheat.Paymentforwoodchipfueltolocalmillsis$800,000.

Geoexchange/heat pump156400-footdeepwellsundertheparkinglotatmaincampustoheatandcoolnewhospitalbuildingatmaincampus.

Landfill Gas ProjectInpartnershipwithLaCrosseCounty,pipedmethanegasunderhighwayI-90tonorthcampus.Produces8,000,000kWhannually.Paymentforgastothecountyis$250,000annuallyand115,000thermsofheat.

Dairy Manure Digester projectsPartneredwithdairiesinMiddletonandSunPrairie,Wisconsinon16MkWhand5MkWhprojectsrespectively.Removesphosphorusfromgroundwater,generatespowertothegrid,compostedfiberbyproductsareusedasanimalbeddingorsoilamendment.

Envision ServiceGundersen’sEnvisionteamhasamassedyearsofprofessionalexperiencewithsuccessfulhealthcareprojectimplementation.Theyarenowofferingtheirexpertisetootherbuildingownersthroughoutreachservicescomprisingnewfacilityenergydesignreviews,renewableenergyplanning,energysixsigmatraining,leadershipworkshopsandseminars.

Geothermal wells

Geothermalheat pump

Hospital

Innovative Advances in Sustainability: GUNDERSEN LUTHERAN HEALTH SYSTEM

Jeff RichExecutiveDirector,GLEnvisionGundersenHealthSystem1900SouthAvenueLaCrosse,WI54601(608)775-6970www.gundersenhealth.org

Energyserviceoutreach.

Recycledpaper

LESSONS LEARNED•Focusonenergyefficiencyfirst•Eachrenewabletechnologyhasprosandcons,sodiversifyyourinvestments

•Uselocalresourceswhereverpossible(woodchips,manureandlandfillmethane)

•Taketimetoconductduediligenceandfeasibilityanalysis,theyareworththeinvestment

•Sometimesyoucandomorewithpartnersthanbyyourself

References

ThemostcommonlyuseddefinitionofSustainabilityincorporatesthepreceptof “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”Thisisaprettyfarreachingstatementandisnotparticularlyhelpfultobusinessesdrivenbyproductiongoals,qualityimprovement,increasedefficiencyandcostcutting.Aswetalktothosebusinessleadersalreadyengagedinsustainabilityefforts,thetermstheytellusinclude:

(1)considertheentirelifecycleoftheproductandofphysicalassets;

(2)considertheeffectonthecommunityinfrastructure;(3)environmentalsolutionsmusthaveabusinesspurpose

andbringvaluetothebusiness;(4)youmusthavepassionforitandenablestafftobe

innovative.We’vefoundsustainabilityisaverybroadsubjectincorporatingproductdesign,procurement,production,packaging,logistics,facilitiesdesignandoperation,safety,health,leadership,employeeinvolvementandcommunitysupport.We’vealsolearnedthatwhilecompaniesexhibitingbestpracticesmaynothiteveryoneofthosemarks,theygetprettyclose.Sochooseadefinitionthatbestsuitsyourbusiness,butknowthatthecompanieswe’vetalkedwitharesuccessfulpartlybecauseoftheirpassionforsustainability,notinspiteofit.

What does

mean to businesses?SUSTAINABILITYSUSTAINABILITY

04/27/2015