Founded in 2008, Kasese Hospital is the leading eco-friendly health care facility in the Western region of Uganda.
When someone heads to the hospital, the primary thought on their mind is feeling better. Few give pause to consider how caring for their health impacts the well-being of the planet. Facilities that go above and beyond to protect the environment we share deserve our praise and patronage.
Kasese Hospital is the one of the facilities in the world that made environmental considerations central to its design from the outset. The 60-bed, well decorated hospital, which was built at a cost of UGX 2.5 billion, opened in 2008 and upgraded in 2010 to a fully functioning hospital. Kasese Hospital has a cool environment with lots of trees and ample space.
Among other Kasese Hospital’s green initiatives are compact fluorescent lighting, occupancy sensors, and a high-efficiency power. The roof is also painted white to reflect heat and to minimize the need for air-conditioning during the hottest months of the year. The Hospital’s Green House Gas emissions has tremendously reduced because efficient cook stoves require less wood fuel (up to 50% less) to generate the same amount of energy required for cooking as three ordinary stone cook stoves.
From the outset, this hospital was designed to have a low environmental impact, with 50 per cent of the materials used being sourced locally and around three-quarters of construction waste being diverted to recycling. Inside the building, natural light provides more than half of the clinical labs’ illumination requirements, while energy and water usage are monitored in real time by an electronic system that can intervene in the event of any problems.
“Conserving environmental resources while creating the best healing environment for patients and their families was an important goal for this project.” The Hospital Administrator noted.
The Ministry of health through their website in Uganda noted that Over time, it has been observed that there is continued mismatch between health infrastructure development and other resources such as personnel, equipment, medicines and supplies across the country, this has resulted in inefficiency in investments and service delivery in the sector.
Uganda’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions like the global emissions from fossil fuels and industry are seen to rise by about 2% each year since 2017 compared with the preceding year, with an uncertainty range between 0.8% and 3%. The news follows three years of emissions staying relatively flat.
The Kasese Hospital project efficiently uses our natural resources and makes an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will tremendously benefit further generations to come.
Green industry businesses aim to use as little water, energy, and raw materials as possible while cutting carbon emissions, or it finds ways to utilize these materials in renewable and eco-friendly ways. This business approach minimizes the company’s strain on natural resources and contributions to climate change.
Being environmentally friendly will have benefits not only for the environment but also for your business. For instance, the promotion of the use of efficient institutional stoves at Kasese Hospital action point aims to reduce emissions through promoting the use of improved energy efficient cook stoves in health institutions at all levels in the different regions of Uganda.
Benefits enjoyed by Kasese Hospital as a result of its green business model include: developing a positive reputation being more attractive to staff and business partners who value environmentally sustainable practices; attracting new customers who are seeking environmentally friendly products and services as well as creating innovative practices that positively affect the environment and leading to increased sales as a result of having a competitive advantage over non-environmentally friendly competitors.
When the UN announced its ‘Race to Zero’ campaign – a global alliance committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – a brace of UK 100 companies signed up for the challenge, with nearly one in three of the UK’s largest businesses committing to cutting emissions in their supply chains. Going green for businesses means considering your company’s overall ecological friendliness.
According to Uganda’s plan for low carbon development, Uganda submitted six action points to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) NAMA Registry and each of us must work towards that commitment.