Dion, H; Evans, M and Farrell, P (2023) Hospitals management transformative initiatives; towards energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in healthcare facilities. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 21(2), pp. 552-584. ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
Purpose: Energy-saving is a growing challenge worldwide because of population growth, economic activity and high consumption rates that are unsustainable in the long term. Health-care facilities and hospitals face the challenge of increases in operational costs. This paper aims to appraise challenges to adopting energy-saving policies and proposes a roadmap for sustainability and energy efficiency management in hospitals and health-care facilities. Design/methodology/approach: Eight hospitals were examined as case studies through qualitative interviews with hospital senior management, executives and health-care facilities managers in addition to collecting relevant data from the literature; there is critical appraisal and content analysis of this data. Findings: This study established factors influencing implementation and challenges to energy-saving strategies. This study proposed guidelines for efficient energy management in hospitals and health-care facilities. This study concluded that the best performance is secured by integrating the proposed guidelines with the adoption of ISO 50001 energy management systems to achieve the United Nations' sustainable development goal – SDG 7 “affordable and clean energy”. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited to the initiatives/experiences of the hospitals studied in the Middle East and North Africa region. Originality/value: This study’s findings, conclusions, recommendations and proposed guidelines enrich the body of knowledge. This will allow industry key stakeholders, hospitals and health-care facilities managers to overcome challenges of implementing energy management. In addition, adopting the proposed guidelines will improve energy efficiency and help hospitals in green initiatives as they seek to demonstrate their support for United Nations' sustainable development goals.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | clean energy; energy efficiency; environmental; environmental management; facilities management; health care; hospitals; renewable energy; sustainability; sustainable development |
| Index terms: | renewable energy, environmental sustainability, appraisal, energy management system, facilities management, consumption, body of knowledge, facilities manager, population, methodology, face, content analysis, strategy, sustainable development, interview, Middle East, ISO, environmental management, energy management, economic activity, implementation, sustainable development goal, health care, executive, energy-saving, United Nations, North Africa, case study, energy efficiency, clean energy |
| Subjects: | demography, physical geography and landforms, management, sustainability assessment, factor and component analysis, research methods, public and environmental health, sustainable design, health safety and environment, psychology, standards development, sustainability and energy, knowledge management, data analysis and analytics, contractual arrangements, energy systems, institutional frameworks, economic analysis, data collection methods, consumer economics, practitioner |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Quality Management, Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Information Management, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Procurement, Governance, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here