Sustainability in the Operating Room
Sustainability in the surgical space is an increasing concern as the healthcare sector carries a substantial environmental footprint. Globally, the healthcare system is responsible for approximately 5% of total carbon emissions (2). In particular, operating rooms (ORs) are among the most resource-intensive areas in healthcare.
ORs have high energy demands, depend on single-use materials, and generate substantial waste. In the United States alone, ORs account for 20% to 33% of a hospital’s overall waste output (5). These factors collectively contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the depletion of natural resources.
This issue is critical because the surgical space’s environmental toll is harming the planet and posing public health risks by driving climate change and resource scarcity. To address this, hospitals must incorporate greener practices with better policies and increased staff awareness.
Fortunately, growing awareness among hospitals and healthcare professionals has led to strong motivation and active engagement in sustainable initiatives aimed at reducing the environmental impact of ORs (1).
Humber River Health (Wilson site) in Canada is one of North America and Europe’s most energy-efficient urban hospitals. Its sustainable design features certified lighting and strategic upgrades, leading to a 29% drop in energy use, 34% less water consumption, and 43% lower GHG emissions than industry standards. In the OR, Humber has implemented a range of sustainable practices such as medical device reprocessing and a shift toward environmentally conscious anesthesia techniques (3).
Organizations like Stanford Health Care and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health have committed to cutting healthcare-related emissions by 50% by 2030 through the White House/U.S. Health and Human Services Health Sector Climate Pledge. Contributing to this goal, Stanford Health Care’s Department of Anesthesia has eliminated the use of desflurane in ORs, a widely used inhalation anesthetic with a high carbon footprint. This shift to greener alternatives reduced emissions from fluorinated anesthetic gases by 83% (6).
The University of Toronto’s Department of Surgery has created a clinical guidance document to support greener ORs, offering practical recommendations framed around the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink. The “reuse” section emphasizes strategies for extending the life of disposable products wherever feasible, promoting more sustainable surgical practices (4).
A key example of this green strategy applies to patient surfaces such as mattresses and surgical gel pad positioners, which are often discarded due to surface damage. To extend the life of these products and to prevent landfill contributions, ORs can repair damages with solutions like CleanPatch®.
CleanPatch® is an FDA and Health Canada-registered Class 1 medical device which can be easily applied to patient surfaces and fully restore their integrity. By incorporating solutions like CleanPatch®, surgical teams can support greener practices through simple yet effective steps that reduce waste and promote sustainability in the OR.
The Benefits of Implementing Medical Surface Repair in the OR
Surface Medical Inc. is a proud member of the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare and is committed to delivering innovative solutions to advance sustainability with CleanPatch®.
CleanPatch® products are designed with the principles of a circular economy in mind. Equipment disposal and procurement directly contribute to the environmental footprint of the healthcare industry, and conventional healthcare waste management practices often overlook alternatives such as equipment reprocessing and repair.
More than 55% of damaged patient surfaces can be diverted from landfill through surface repair (7). Enabling healthcare facilities to extend the lifespan of damaged medical surfaces safely mitigates the environmental impact of equipment disposal and replacement (see diagram below).
To learn more about how you can promote sustainability in healthcare through surface repair, contact us at info@surfacemedical.ca.
References
- Gorgun, E., Dehipawala, S., O’Hara, M., Naoumtchik, E., Gangoli, G., Ricketts, C., & Tommaselli, G. A. (2024). Environmental Sustainability Initiatives in the Operating Room: A Scoping Review. Annals of Surgery Open, 5(3), e451. https://doi.org/10.1097/AS9.0000000000000451
- Johnson, S. M., Marconi, S., Sanchez-Casalongue, M., Francis, N., Huo, B., Alseidi, A., Alimi, Y. R., Pietrabissa, A., Arezzo, A., Frountzas, M., Bellato, V., Potapov, O., Barach, P., Rems, M., Bello, R. J., Nijhawan, S., Oslock, W. M., Sathe, T. S., Hall, R. P., … Sylla, P. (2024). Sustainability in surgical practice: A collaborative call toward environmental sustainability in operating rooms. Surgical Endoscopy, 38(8), 4127–4137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-024-10962-0
- Lean, green, and digital: One hospital’s approach to sustainability. (2025, February 27). Hospital News. Retrieved May 7, 2025, from https://hospitalnews.com/lean-green-and-digital-one-hospitals-approach-to-sustainability/
- Pearsall, E. A., Haldane, V., Goldman, J., Abbass, S. A. A., Donahoe, L., Simms, N., Got, T., McLeod, R. S., & Miller, F. A. (n.d.). Greening ORs: A guidance document for improving the environmental sustainability of operating rooms. [PDF]. Best Practice in Surgery. https://bestpracticeinsurgery.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GreenOR_final_BPS.pdf
- Vacharathit, V., Walsh, R. M., Utech, J., & Asfaw, S. H. (2022). Action in Healthcare Sustainability is a Surgical Imperative: This is a Novel Way to Do It. Journal of Surgical Education, 79(2), 275–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2021.09.002
- Digitale, E. (2023, June 2). Initiatives aim to make the operating room sustainable. Stanford Medicine Magazine. Retrieved May 7, 2025, from https://stanmed.stanford.edu/greening-operating-room-sustainability/
- Marks, B., de Haas, E., Abboud, T., Lam, I., & Datta, I., (2018). Uncovering the rates of damaged patient bed and stretcher mattresses in Canadian acute care hospitals. Canadian Journal of Infection Control, 33(3), 171-175. https://cleanpatch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Surface-Medical-Publication-in-Canadian-Journal-of-Infection-Control-Fall-2018.pdf