Ramsay Health Care Australia’s commitment to environmental sustainability has reached another milestone, thanks to the success of its growing network of renewable-energy systems.
The country’s largest private hospitals operator has surpassed one million kilowatt hours (kWh) of solar energy generated since the first site across its 73 facilities came online in May 2021.
That total would power around 150 Australian homes a year, assuming average electricity use of 18 kWh per day.
“We currently have 11 sites fitted out with new solar panel systems, with another nine sites expected to be generating solar power by the end of this year,” said Ramsay Australia’s National Environment Manager, Sue Panuccio.
“Generating one million kilowatt hours of solar is the equivalent of saving 820 tonnes of CO2 emissions, or taking 372 new cars off the roads.
“This is a wonderful contribution towards a healthier planet.”
Ramsay’s Australian operations have committed to the global group’s sustainability program, including June’s announcement that it would strive to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
Ms Panuccio said Ramsay was also taking steps to make its energy usage more environmentally friendly.
“So far 16 Ramsay sites have upgraded their lighting to more energy-efficient LED lights, with another 17 sites currently in the process of upgrading,” she said.
“We expect the completed LED upgrades have saved more than 2,909 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.”
Ms Panuccio said Ramsay Australia was also on track to meet its goal of replacing more than 50 million single-use plastic items by the end of 2022.
“In March 2020 we began removing single-use plastics from our sites, and the support we received from our teams and patients was overwhelming,” she said.
“With 44.5 million so far successfully removed, I’m confident we can hit our target.”
