2025 IHF Awards

🏆 SILVER

Geneva Sustainability Centre Excellence Award for Hospital Sustainability Acceleration

Alexandra Hospital

Accelerating Alexandra Hospital’s sustainability with SAT

Alexandra Hospital's Go Green programme leveraged the Sustainability Accelerator Tool (SAT) to achieve comprehensive sustainability improvements across operations and clinical settings. The hospital successfully implemented low-carbon care practices including reusable cutlery and instruments, canister-form wipes, and optimised blood tube inventory management, with the cutlery transition alone projected to eliminate 450,000 single-use items annually. Improvements to energy efficiency through LED lighting, temperature optimisation, and HVAC upgrades complemented enhanced waste management. In addressing the concerns about potential compromises to infection control standards when reducing the use of disposable gowns and gloves, the team also collaborated with Infection Prevention & Control Nursing to develop evidence-based protocols maintaining safety standards.

The programme achieved exceptional staff engagement with over 50% workforce participation by FY25 through expanded environmental training and monthly sustainability meetings. By systematically embedding sustainability into operational processes and organisational culture through SAT's benchmarking framework, AH has created a robust system ensuring environmental considerations are integral to decision-making, positioning the hospital for sustained long-term sustainability improvements.

🏅 Honourable Mention

Geneva Sustainability Centre Excellence Award for Hospital Sustainability Acceleration

Changi General Hospital

Future-proofing healthcare: Optimizing sustainability at Changi General Hospital while upholding the highest standards of clinical excellence and care

Changi General Hospital transformed from having limited climate planning and minimal staff engagement to establishing a framework using the Sustainability Accelerator Tool (SAT). Following the formation of a dedicated sustainability committee in November 2023, CGH systematically upskilled staff in data collection and analysis whilst introducing measurable targets for initiatives. CGH achieved remarkable carbon reduction wins including a 94% reduction in nitrous oxide leakage saving 400 tons of CO2e, and an impressive 805 tons of CO2e savings from desflurane reduction between 2019 and 2024 representing a 90% drop from peak usage. Energy efficiency improvements through solar panel installations and heat recovery systems reduced Scope 2 emissions, whilst Scope 3 advances included reusable product transitions, telehealth expansion, green procurement policies, and enhanced biohazard waste education.

Building on this success, CGH plans to establish a formal sustainability office with comprehensive education programmes, dedicated funding for larger projects, and fostering a motivated workforce where sustainability practices extend beyond work to transform lifestyles, positioning the hospital as a leader in healthcare sustainability.

🏅 Honourable Mention

Geneva Sustainability Centre Excellence Award for Hospital Sustainability Acceleration

Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Accelerating the Green Movement at TTSH

Tan Tock Seng Hospital embarked on a Green Movement initiative to address healthcare's significant carbon footprint by using the Sustainability Accelerator Tool (SAT), which helped TTSH in comparing and evaluating sustainability efforts across various dimensions. This also led to establishing measurable targets and a formal structure including an ESG Council and dedicated Sustainability Office. The hospital achieved impressive operational wins including a cataract surgery review that reduced single-use consumables by over 700kg, recycled more than 2,000kg of waste, saved S$2,000, and decreased CO2 emissions by over 2,000kg. Additional successes included a recycling pilot diverting over five tons of waste and a Food Rescue initiative minimising event food waste.

TTSH has made substantial progress towards sustainability targets. With enhanced staff training, dedicated funding for green initiatives, and robust sustainability framework in place, TTSH is well-positioned to scale green efforts sustainably and plans to integrate SAT as a regular feature for benchmarking against international standards.

🏅 Honourable Mention

Dr Prathap C Reddy Excellence Award for Clinical Quality and Patient Safety

National University Hospital

Optimizing care in cellulitis patients

NUH's Acute Medical Unit successfully transformed care for cellulitis patients by addressing two critical bottlenecks: overuse of unnecessary blood cultures and inefficient discharge processes. Through comprehensive stakeholder education on evidence-based blood culture indications and streamlined discharge pathways to community physicians, outpatient antibiotic therapy centres, and specialist clinics, the project achieved remarkable improvements. Appropriate blood culture ordering surged from just 6% to an impressive 98%, whilst early discharge rates more than doubled from 48% to over 80%.

These improvements delivered substantial benefits including approximately S$1,000 cost savings per patient, reduced financial burden on families, enhanced bed capacity utilisation, and improved patient care quality through evidence-based practices. Building on this success, NUH is expanding the initiative across other wards and broadening scope to include additional clinical conditions like pneumonia over the next six months.

🏅 Honourable Mention

Ashikaga-Nikken Excellence Award for Low-Carbon Healthcare

Alexandra Hospital

Alexandra Hospital’s Go Green programme

Alexandra Hospital's Go Green programme successfully transformed hospital sustainability practices after frontline staff raised concerns about inefficient practices including excessive consumable use, overcooling of rooms, and ineffective recycling. The comprehensive three-phase initiative aligned with NUHS environmental goals across four key areas: carbon reduction, energy efficiency, waste management, and staff engagement. Starting with awareness-building waste tours and staff workshops in 2022, AH progressed to Green Ward and Clinic pilots in 2023, introducing reusable cutlery, reduced packaging waste, and digital workflows that achieved impressive 25-30% recycling rates in operating theatres and clinics.

The programme delivered substantial environmental wins including over 1,100 CO2e reduction in Scope 1 emissions, 1.2 million sheets of paper saved through digitalisation, and 10% reduction in energy use intensity. By institutionalising environmental standards into risk management frameworks and Joint Commission International compliance, AH has embedded sustainability into core operations. Moving forward, AH is in the process of developing a Green Mark Super Low Energy hospital by 2028, positioning itself as a model for sustainable healthcare delivery.