Today the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) released an online showcase highlighting concrete examples of how health-focused organizations are advancing climate action across the nation and globally. As awareness grows about the health threats posed by the climate crisis, including excessive heat, increasing rates of respiratory illness, and more, the health sector is working to reduce emissions, protect the health of the communities it serves, and spur advancement. The new Climate Action Showcase celebrates progress and highlights clear examples of how health-focused organizations are taking climate action, and offers resources, tools, and ideas for other organizations—in the health sector and beyond—to learn from and replicate as they address climate and health.
The Climate Action Showcase features examples of a wide range of activities undertaken by participants in the NAM initiative to accelerate the National Climate and Health Movement (the Movement). A total of 341 organizations have already joined the Movement—including 46 health systems representing 778 hospitals—and enrollment is ongoing. Inclusion in the Climate Action Showcase is just one example of the opportunities available to organizations that join. Other benefits include opportunities to learn from leading organizations in climate and health, form new and impactful partnerships, track collective progress, and access resources and events.
The Climate Action Showcase includes descriptions of approaches health care organizations, educators, professional associations, pharmaceutical and supply chain companies, community organizations, and more have taken to drive progress on addressing climate change and health. Users can navigate seven categories—reducing emissions, advancing policy, engaging communities, teaching and educating, measuring and reporting emissions, funding action, and raising awareness—to easily identify solutions and ideas relevant to their own work.
“We know that the impacts of climate change are taking a toll on our health. It’s admittedly a daunting challenge but the good news is that we have solutions. This new resource provides concrete ideas for any organization deciding where to start or what to do next in their sustainability journey,” said NAM President Victor J. Dzau. “The Movement and its participating organizations demonstrate what we can accomplish when we work together. I encourage everyone to take a look through the Climate Action Showcase, get inspired, and join this collective effort to protect and improve health.”
About the NAM’s Climate and Health Work
The Movement is an initiative of the NAM’s Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the U.S. Health Sector (the Climate Collaborative), a public-private partnership of leaders from across the health system committed to addressing the sector’s environmental impact while strengthening its sustainability and resilience. Launched in 2021, the Collaborative is part of the NAM’s Climate Grand Challenge, a multi-year global initiative to improve and protect human health, well-being, and equity by working to transform systems that both contribute to and are impacted by climate change.
The Collaborative is co-chaired by Dzau, George Barrett (former Chairman and CEO, Cardinal Health), Senator William Frist (former U.S. Senate Majority Leader; Chair, The Nature Conservancy’s Global Board of Directors), and Admiral Rachel Levine (Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Newly appointed co-chair Frist is a heart and lung transplant surgeon and serves on the NAM Climate Grand Challenge Steering Committee. He has written extensively on the links between climate change and health and has testified before the U.S. Senate on the impacts of climate change.
