Harvard Business Review: Why Kaiser Permanente Is Integrating Sustainability into Health Care Operations
- Date: 6/12/2012 - 12:00 am
By Andrew Winston
Published June 12, 2012
Harvard Business Review Blog Network
Kaiser Permanente (KP), one of the largest health care providers in America, has a clear mission: improve health. In a surprising and welcome twist, KP is publicly recognizing that climate change threatens that mission. This health care leader is showing how an authentic, mission-driven connection to global issues can drive change.
The topic of climate change has become so politicized, it's rare to hear company representatives and CEOs admit that they're taking a course of action specifically in response to a climate-related threat. But that's starting to change, even in sectors you might not think have a direct stake in climate change. [...]
I spoke recently with Kathy Gerwig, KP's Environmental Stewardship Officer, to find out. I expected a more typical answer about achieving GHG reduction goals or doing the right thing. What I got instead was one of the most straightforward statements about the role of climate change in public health and in corporate strategy.
As Gerwig put it, "there's credible evidence of significant climate change that will impact our ability to provide quality health care."