H2E Champions for Change are organizations that actively promote H2E's programs and goals to their affiliated health care facilities and work to improve their own environmental performance and serve as role models for other health care organizations. Champions also work to educate the healthcare sector and the general public about environmental issues in health care, and to create broad awareness of and support for the H2E program. H2E recognizes Champions for their accomplishments through a national awards program.

In this section:

Why Join?
Become a Champion
Develop Your Program
Current Champions
Champion Awards
Champion Toolbox
Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

	Who Can Participate?
	What are the Benefits of Membership?
	What do H2E Champions Commit to Do?
	Are there Baseline Expectations for Champions?
		State/Metro Champions
		Health System Champions
		GPO Champions
		Vendor/Consultant Champions
	What is the Annual Reporting Requirement?

Who can participate?

Champions can be:

• Large health systems (8-10 facilities is the usual cutoff)
• Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs)
• Local, state or regional environmental programs
• Member or community-based organizations working with health care facilities
• Health care-related professional associations
• Vendors, manufacturers, consultants, and other service providers*

*H2E does not endorse any product or service. Vendors, manufacturers, consultants, and other service providers are eligible for Champion for Change status, including awards and special recognition, if they meet the baseline Champion commitments for their business sector.

What are the benefits of membership?

By becoming an H2E Champion for Change your organization will:

• Play a pivotal role in “greening” the health care industry by helping members and customers achieve a safer working environment, a positive public image and often substantial financial savings
• Be included in the Current Champions List on the H2E website along with information about your commitments and a link to your organization's website
• Be recognized by H2E in publications and press releases and at national and regional H2E events
• Receive assistance in meeting your self-identified environmental goals
• Gain access to H2E staff or H2E Partners to speak at your conferences and meetings
• Receive permission to use the H2E logo to promote H2E programs
• Become eligible for H2E Awards, the premiere national recognition of environmental achievement in health care

What do H2E Champions commit to do?

H2E Champions for Change provide comprehensive support for H2E through extensive promotional efforts to their affiliated facilities, and active engagement in H2E's education and outreach work above and beyond their standard business model. Does this not sound like the right program for you? See a comparison of all of our membership programs.

Generally, Champions:

• Establish environmental goals: Commit to and meet specific measurable goals and objectives annually. Each Champion's annual commitments are publicly available through the Current Champion listings on the H2E website
• Publicize their commitment to H2E: Provide information on their activities in newsletters, mailings, or webpages and create a link from their website to the H2E website
• Recruit members: Encourage affiliated health care facilities to become H2E Partners for Change
• Provide Information: Distribute promotional or technical information and resources on the financial, public health and environmental benefits of mercury elimination, waste minimization and toxicity reduction to their members and affiliated facilities. Participate in H2E outreach and training events
• Recognize Partners' Efforts: Support and reward their affiliates' and clients' efforts to improve their environmental performance by developing recognition programs, highlighting high-performing facilities in internal and external communications, and encouraging facilities to apply for H2E awards.

Are there baseline expectations for Champions?

Yes - each Champion sector has certain basic expectations which organizations within that sector should plan to meet. Brief summaries of Champion expectations by sector are provided below.

• State/Metro Champions
• Health System Champions
• GPO Champions
• Vendor/Consultant Champions

State/Metro Champions

General Goal: To form a sustainable network that will provide a forum for discussion and networking to support hospitals in a specific city, state or region in making continuous progress toward achieving H2E's goals of mercury elimination, waste reduction and hazardous chemical minimization, as well as other pollution prevention initiatives.

Commitments

• Commitment of sufficient staff resources to adequately support your organization's contribution to development, implementation and ongoing support of the program
• A multiyear commitment, as appropriate to support your stated goals
• Support for formation of a state or regional committee for an H2E “Chapter”
• Organization of an introductory event for state/metro healthcare facilities
• Establishing and facilitating network conference calls and/or regular meetings

Health System Champions*

General Goal: To bring all member system facilities into active partnership with H2E, and achieve and measure system-wide mercury reduction, waste reduction, hazardous chemical and PBT minimization, consistent with H2E's goals.

Commitments

• Publicize your commitment to your administrative staff
• Create an environmental policy and goals for your organization
• Publicize your H2E commitments to member facilities
• Designate an H2E Coordinator at each facility
• Collect baseline data on mercury, RMW, solid waste generation from all facilities system-wide
• Provide in-service training and other education and outreach to support environmental improvement efforts
• Provide ongoing reporting on H2E activities, goals and accomplishments in in-house publications
• Collect end of year data annually from all facilities to monitor and reflect reductions in mercury, RMW, solid waste, etc.

* Though larger health systems join H2E as Champions, promoting the H2E goals to their member facilities, smaller health systems (under 8 hospitals) are encouraged to join H2E as Partners, focusing on improvements to their own facility operations. Learn more about the Partners for Change Program.

GPO Champions

General Goal: To reduce and strive to eliminate the purchase of environmentally damaging products (mercury-containing, hazardous chemical-containing, non-recycled, non-recyclable, etc.) through system contracts, and to educate GPO members about the importance of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP).

Commitments

• Promote environmental initiatives to staff and members
• Inventory contracts for mercury, hazardous chemicals/PBTs
• Establish a policy of promoting elimination of mercury- and other PBT-containing items and hazardous chemicals from contracts wherever feasible
• Establish systems to inform contracting staff about environmental issues related to contracts, and provide training/assistance in developing environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) contract specifications
• Contract for EP alternatives — cleaning supplies, paper, mercury alternatives for clinical, lab and building supply, IPM services, water-saving appliances, energy efficient technologies, and encourage members to use these contracts
• Train all sales staff in EPP information and available environmentally preferable contracts/criteria
• Establish a system which offers members easy access to all EPP contracts, including information on environmental improvements related to the contract changes
• Provide annual reporting on purchases of environmentally preferable products

Vendor/Consultant Champions

General Goal: To train customers/clients in the environmental and economic benefits of reducing waste volumes and toxicity, increasing water- and energy efficiency, and eliminating the use of mercury-containing products and hazardous chemicals, and to encourage customers/ clients to connect with H2E's programs to reduce the overall environmental impact of their facility operations.

Vendor Commitments

• Provide verified environmentally preferable products or services Provide a discount to H2E Partners
• Train sales staff to include environmental issues in discussions with healthcare purchasers
• Provide information/training to purchasers in selection and use of environmentally preferable products, beyond your own (this may be through dissemination of H2E materials.)
• Provide customers with reporting on reductions in waste, protective equipment, energy or water use, toxic chemicals, disposal costs and other environmental and financial improvements linked to their use of your products
• Verify and publicize your organization's progress on internal environmental improvements (waste reduction, EPP, hazardous material elimination, etc.)
• Annually report to H2E on your volume of sales of environmentally preferable products, or products which improve hospitals' environmental performance

Consultant Commitments

• Provide consulting services on waste and mercury reduction, P2, resource efficiency and toxics use reduction
• Provide services at discount to H2E Partners
• Where possible, provide an option of payment based on savings resulting from your consulting activities (ie. waste disposal cost reductions, water use reductions savings, etc)
• Provide general education on environmental issues related to healthcare in addition to the specific service you are providing (this may simply be through dissemination of H2E materials or through newsletter or website outreach)
• Provide H2E with annual reporting (including quantifiable data) on your clients' progress toward achieving the H2E program's goals

What is the annual reporting requirement?

H2E asks Champions to submit an annual summary report recording progress made on each measurable objective. The annual report enables H2E to share your successful activities as a model for other program members, and also ensures that you are eligible for an H2E Champion for Change Award!

Annual Progress reports must also identify new measurable objectives for the following year. Please contact us if you would like assistance with identifying new goals or activities, or reporting on your accomplishments.

• Download the Champion Annual Goals Form for Microsoft Word 98 or higher. [INSTRUCTIONS]
  (DOT format, 2 pages, 69KB, requires a commercial wordprocessor, such as Microsoft Word to view and complete).
• Complete this application electronically and e-mail to Hospitals for a Healthy Environment at: H2E@H2E-online.org.

If you have any problems completing this form electronically, please call us at 800-727-2179 or e-mail us at H2E@H2E-online.org.

Note: H2E may suggest to Champions who are unable to make substantive progress on their identified objectives or who cannot provide quantifiable information on their progress that they ‘resign' from the program and sign on as Endorsers. In addition, if a Champion organization finds itself unable to fulfill its Champion commitments for any reason, it may ask to be removed from the Champion designation .

Not sure this is the right program for you?

Below is a quick comparison of H2E's membership programs.