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Fact Sheets

Building Green: Kaiser Permanente’s Green Building Practices

Kaiser Permanente, recognizing the link between the health of the environment and human health, has played a key role in developing nationally recognized green building strategies for the health care sector. From the start, Kaiser Permanente has been at the table — along with architects, engineers and public health care advocates — to design and pilot test strategies for the Green Guide for Health Care, the premiere tool for building health care facilities that are healthier for our employees, members, the communities we serve, and the environment.

Kaiser Permanente’s Modesto (Calif.) Medical Center has earned national recognition as one of the "greenest" health care facilities in North America. It is being hailed by environmental advocates as a national model for future hospital construction. This was Kaiser Permanente’s first medical facility registered under the Green Guide for Health Care.

  • The new building uses rubber flooring instead of vinyl in many areas. Vinyl poses some health risks in use and releases dioxins during the manufacturing process.
  • The paint and upholstery are low in volatile organic compounds, which have been connected to numerous health problems, including cancer.
  • The carpet backing is PVC-free and made from almost 100 percent recycled material — polyvinyl butyral — which is sourced from the film left over when safety glass is recycled.
  • Inside air is kept fresher because nothing is recirculated; 100 percent of the air supply is brought in from the outside. There is virtually no "off-gassing" from new materials.
  • The medical building was sited to take into consideration "hot spots" on sunny days, resulting in less energy needed for cooling, and it is topped with a reflective thermoplastic polyolefin membrane roof instead of typical, noxious roofing tar.
  • Solar panels capable of generating electricity for up to 20 homes are used in place of mechanical equipment screens on the roof of the MOB.
  • The parking lot was constructed with the largest permeable paving system in the western United States. The pavement lets rainwater soak into the ground, thus recharging groundwater rather than being diverted into storm drains.

Over the past seven years, Kaiser Permanente’s green building team has:

  • Chosen ecologically sustainable materials for 7.5 million square feet of new construction.
  • Eliminated the purchase and disposal of 40 tons of hazardous chemicals.
  • Diverted thousands of tons of demolition debris from landfills.
  • Installed more than 50 acres of reflective roofing.
  • Worked with suppliers to introduce several new PVC-free products to the market at no additional cost.
  • Sponsored the California Sustainable Hospital Forum, in which 400 architects, designers and engineers learned state of the art green building techniques.
  • Helped launch the Global Health and Safety Initiative, which seeks to collaborate with others in the health care industry, government, universities, and non-governmental organizations to improve workplace, patient, and environmental safety.
  • Zero exporting of e-waste. Zero e-waste sent to landfills.

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