Mayo Clinic Green Initiatives

Mayo Clinic is dedicated to improving the health of its patients and staff through excellence in the practice of medicine. Recognizing the linkage between environmental health and public health, Mayo Clinic is committed to fiscally responsible environment protection practices to benefit the health of our patients, staff, and communities.

Mayo Clinic exercises a thoughtful and comprehensive sustainable approach to environmental stewardship, including:

1. Conserving energy
   • Mayo Clinic works to reduce energy consumption by designing and operating its facilities to be safe, efficient environments for patients, staff and visitors. We’ve reduced our energy consumption by more than 20 percent since 2020, and have a goal to achieve a 30 percent reduction by 2025. To accomplish this we are designing for more energy efficiency in new construction, making renovations to existing facilities, upgrading our utilities and equipment, and inspiring our staff to “think green” in their practices at work and at home.
2. Environmentally responsible supply chain practices
   • Mayo Clinic works with suppliers to procure equipment and materials that serve and protect the health of our patients, staff and the environment. We are committed to reviewing all of our purchases with consideration of:
     • Minimal packaging
     • Toxicity and minimizing products containing lead, mercury, latex, polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC) and di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), fragrances
     • Use of recycled materials in the manufacturing of purchased products
     • Use of energy efficient equipment
     • Product’s ability to be re-processed and/or recycled
     • Use of reprocessed products
     • Products that reduce water use or reduce the creation of contaminated wastewaterr

   Mayo Clinic is a founding member of Greenhealth Exchange, a purchasing cooperative with a mission to accelerate the adoption of new and existing green products in the healthcare industry.

3. Minimizing waste
   • Mayo Clinic strives to reduce waste produced in daily operations and find new ways to recycle. More than 31% of Mayo Clinic’s overall waste stream is currently recycled. Mayo Clinic has operated its own recycling facility at its largest campus in Rochester, Minnesota, for 25 years. Half of Mayo Clinic’s waste is disposed of at the Olmsted County Waste-to Energy facility and helps to generate energy for the community. Food waste at Mayo Clinic is also repurposed for composting and animal feed at local farms.
   • At Mayo Clinic, our ability to conserve resources and innovate in sustainability is energized by our employees, who are passionate about the health of people and our planet. Mayo Clinic campuses are recipients of multiple awards from Practice Greenhealth over consecutive years for excellence in sustainability. Practice Greenhealth is a national consortium dedicated to reducing the impact of health care organizations and hospitals on the environment.