People, Profit and Patient Earth: Hospital sustainability shifts to increase profit.

As a passionate hospital sustainability advocate and small business owner, I have consumed tons of information to see what trends may emerge in 2025.  My take:

1. Punch line. . . companies recognize sustainability is a “hidden profit center” for reducing energy, pollution and improving workforce retention and consumer marketing. This is good because business is incorporating sustainability in operations!
2. Hospital CFOs need “all hands on deck” to increase profits to sustain their mission. Like market share and service line volumes, data driven sustainability plans will become part of the annual budget process and bond refinancing.   Even 1% of margin savings in a sustainability plan can offset revenue decreases in Medicare, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act patients and potential increased supply chain costs from tariffs and labor deportations.
3. US healthcare still produces at least 9% of carbon pollution.  Hospitals still need to save money and engage their workforce.  Hospitals urgently need an electricity strategy as prices will increase with AI and hungry data centers.  Nitrous oxide pipes leak, boilers are old, supplies are expensive.  Profit driven sustainability plans identify and measure these savings.
4. According to AP VoteCast climate concerns increased 10% in importance to US voters over 2020.
5. California, Massachusetts, Colorado and over 50 cities have energy and carbon pollution reduction regulations.
6. Climate change will continue to impact humans everywhere with extreme weather (fire, floods, drought, heavy rains, tornadoes, hurricanes, migrations) driven by CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.
7. All sustainability work is good, but the profit signal is carbon waste.  To focus, measure and execute projects that reduce your carbon footprint.
8. Climate policy has been a global focus for over 30 years.  It will ebb and flow like other policies, but it’s not going away.   Equity and bond markets are globally interconnected.
9. The future is literally bright!  Solar energy is the cheapest energy to produce and massive batteries will come on-line in 2025-26 which will store energy from wind and solar.  AI/Data centers will increase electricity demand and costs.  That demand gap will be met renewable energy due to net zero carbon footprint commitments of Big Tech.

SION60 helps hospitals and medical device manufacturers calculate savings and reduce energy and pollution with a low-cost platform.  An ROI is guaranteed in the contract.  Contact [email protected].

Sources:  APVoteCast, imt.org, Foreign Affairs podcast with Brian Deese, The Economist World Ahead 2025, The New York Times, https://www.bsr.org/en/sustainability-insights/insights-plus/sustainable-business-in-context-us-politics-and-global-impacts.