The Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) has released its second Climate & Sustainability Report1, which highlights the efforts of 14 academic hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto to prioritize and mobilize sustainability and climate action, as assessed by a collaborative Sustainability Balanced Scorecard.

The new report demonstrates measurable system-wide progress across TAHSN to advance sustainability and climate action, with organizations increasingly embedding sustainability as a core value and priority and into governance. In just one year, more hospitals formalized sustainability teams, embedded climate into strategic plans, strengthened emissions reporting, and expanded supply stewardship and appropriate care initiatives. The report reflects a shared commitment to continuous improvement and highlights areas of progress and innovation across the network, as well as opportunities to further advance this critical work.

TAHSN is one of the largest academic health science networks in North America, with more than 98,000 staff and serving more than 9 million patients each year2. With size, scale and breadth, TAHSN seeks to demonstrate local impact and global leadership in climate resilience, and environmental stewardship.

“Climate change is already affecting the health of our patients and communities,” says Sarah Downey, TAHSN Chair and President & CEO, CAMH. “This report demonstrates how academic hospitals are taking concrete steps to reduce their environmental impact and strengthen resilience – while continuing to build momentum for further progress.”

Unity Health Toronto’s accomplishments

Unity Health had another strong showing in the 2025 Sustainability Scorecard, scoring green in dimensions of Organizational Capacity, Appropriate Care, Supply Stewardship and GHG Emissions Reduction. The network is leveraging these results to identify areas for growth and opportunity, and to develop plans and strategies for progression.

“We are proud of Unity Health’s achievements over the past year and committed to continuing this work across all levels and sites of our network,” says Katelyn Poyntz, Director Project Engineering & Energy.

Some key achievements and projects include:

  • A commitment to reduce GHGs 20 per cent by 2030 and 50 per cent by 2040.
  • The “Nix the Nitrous” initiative, which will see the decommissioning of central nitrous oxide. This work started with decommissioning at St. Michael’s Hospital.
  • A target goal of reducing food-related GHG emissions by reducing red meat menu options by 60 per cent by 2030 and increasing plant-forward menu options by the same margin. Currently, 25 per cent of meals offered in the cafeteria and in-patient areas are plant-forward. The network formed a menu committee, which includes patients and family partners, to help drive this work forward.
  • The use of reusable textiles has expanded across the network, including items like linens, surgical gowns, scrub hats, and drapes, where appropriate, along with education to raise awareness and encourage use.
  • The creation and implementation of construction guidelines that embed sustainability and energy saving measures.

Unity Health has both a sustainability team and an energy team, formally founded in 2019. The network remains committed to driving meaningful change through a systems-wide approach guided by its 2024-29 Sustainability Plan, which outlines strategic priorities to reduce environmental impact, strengthen resiliency, and embed sustainability into the organization’s culture and operations.

Second annual report card

TAHSN’s Sustainability Balanced Scorecard evaluates leadership, clinical care, infrastructure and institutional resilience – reinforcing that environmental stewardship is inseparable from patient care, quality and financial responsibility.

This scorecard was developed collaboratively, with the 14 TAHSN hospitals measuring themselves against four perspectives, each with their own foci:

  • Leading: organizational capacity and leadership and governance
  • Caring: appropriate care and supply stewardship
  • Building: reductions in operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and waste
  • Shaping: procurement and resilience to climate shocks and stresses

Scores were collected in September 2025. Each perspective identifies two objectives for a total of 8. Each objective incorporates a series of criteria to assess achievement. Organizations were scored on a green (achieved), yellow (partially achieved) and red (not achieved) scale.

The average score of participating hospitals was 4-5 green in 2025, in comparison to 3 green in 2024. No organization received the theoretical best score of 8.

The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard has been developed for the TAHSN Sustainable Health System Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP was established in 2020 by the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) and the University of Toronto’s Council of Health Sciences (CHS) to collaboratively address the challenge of climate change in the health sector.

TheCollaborative Centre for Climate, Health & Sustainable Care is a multi-faculty academic unit at the University of Toronto, which serves as secretariat for the community of practice. Brittany Maguire, the Managing Director, and Fiona Miller, the Director, led the development of the scorecard and report and have facilitated the CoP on various sustainability initiatives since 2020.

Another assessment is planned for 2026, to continue to monitor and drive performance, celebrate achievements, and share practices and learnings across and beyond the network.

 References

1 – Maguire, B, Nour, S, Miller, FA. Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) 2025 Climate & Sustainability Report. Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health & Sustainable Care. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. January 2026.

2 – Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN). TAHSN Impact Report 2025. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. August 2025.

Related Tags