1.0Sustainability Annual Report 2025https://sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu/2025sarahhttps://sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu/2025/author/sarah/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="2SmibacSm3"><a href="https://sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu/2025/locations/uc-davis-health/">UC Davis Health</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu/2025/locations/uc-davis-health/embed/#?secret=2SmibacSm3" width="600" height="338" title="“UC Davis Health” — Sustainability Annual Report 2025" data-secret="2SmibacSm3" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://sec-1127-sustainabilityreport-multi.pantheonsite.io/2025/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/10/2025_UC_DavisHealth_EarthDay.jpg20001340UC Davis Health (UCDH) reflects on a year marked by progress in sustainability. UCDH earned recognition from Practice Greenhealth with the Emerald Award, as an outstanding sustainable hospital in the top 20% of the nation as well as recognition in five Circles of Excellence areas: Food, Sustainable Procurement, Water, Transportation and Green Building. FOOD Sustainable food and beverage spend remained relatively constant, increasing less than 1 percent compared to the previous year. UC Davis Health has focused its efforts on reducing food waste. It partnered with Copia, an organization that accepts overproduced foods to feed communities in need. Additionally, the culinary team minimized overproduction opportunities, taking food donation totals down more than 4,000 pounds from the previous year. Green building UC Davis Health constructed one new Gold-certified LEED building, the UC Davis Pharmacy Shared Service Center, which earned 5 points for water metering and outdoor and indoor water use reduction. UC Davis Health has five occupied all-electric buildings and three under construction. The campus also has one Parksmart-certified parking structure. 1 Platinum, 10 Gold and 1 Silver Healthy Vending Healthy vending is defined as meeting UC’s Healthy Vending Guidelines. Data is from 2023–24. Through a partnership with Byte Box vending machines, UC Davis Health can repurpose excess food, expanding its ability to feed more in a convenient way. Extra grilled chicken can be turned into chicken sandwiches to be sold in these vending machines in five locations throughout the medical center. This is not only a landfill waste diversion initiative but also provides busy staff an opportunity to purchase a healthy meal closer to their areas of work. procurement UC Davis Health Procurement is committed to reducing waste through smarter, more sustainable choices. It partnered with clinicians to review plastic waste and identify items to reduce or eliminate. For office supplies, Procurement highlighted green alternatives and prioritized purchasing recycled paper products. Additionally, a partnership with IT hardware providers to use data to guide more sustainable decisions was another successful focus. In fiscal year 2025, UC Davis Health collected more than 17,000 pounds of equipment for reprocessing, diverting it from the landfill and saving more than $133,000. Green spend is defined as meeting preferred or minimum criteria in UC’s Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.Suppliers reporting: Appliances and IT hardware (4), Office supplies (1). “Reprocessing” refers to the FDA-approved re-manufacturing process carried out on a used device, including cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, testing and related procedures to allow its safe reuse. This process allows health facilities to reduce their reliance on single-use devices. Transportation *Sustainable vehicles are defined as electric (zero-emission), plug-in hybrid or clean transportation fuel. UC Davis Health invested in increasing bicycle ridership. It opened a newly constructed bike shelter with 120 bike parking spaces, accessory lockers and a water bottle filling station, held two bike riding classes and provided over 150 free helmets to employees and students. The Be Smart About Safety grant enabled production of a video informing riders how to use the bike shelter’s new vertical-style racks. The overall campus’s drive-alone rate decreased by 4%, correlating with an increase in reported telecommuting. Single-Use Plastics Phase-Out Complete Phase-out* Partial Phase-out Starting Soon *Complete phase-out of single-use plastics may include exemptions where reasonable alternatives to plastic do not exist. UC Davis Health phased out all single-use plastic water bottles in retail locations, Byte Box vending machines and catering facilities. The next opportunity under exploration is to replace single-use plastic bottles in patient service areas with aluminum can products. Through a grant awarded by the UC Zero Waste Working Group, a single-use plastic utensil reduction project is underway, seeking to encourage staff to use reusable utensils in campus cafes. Nearly 3,000 complimentary reusable utensils kits have been provided to staff so far. Awards UC Davis Health was honored this year with the Practice Greenhealth Emerald Award, which recognizes the top 20% of applicants (out of more than 500 hospitals) and is focused on advanced sustainability programs and exemplary scores in a range of categories. UC Davis Health was also honored with five Circles of Excellence Awards, including Food, Sustainable Procurement, Water, Transportation and Green Building. A full list of awards is featured on the UC Office of the President’s website. Practice Greenhealth — Emerald Award Combined Data Progress on the following policy areas for this Health System is reported by the campus location: