Green and Clean – Samitivej Hospital

Samitivej Hospital recognizes the importance of operating in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, both internally and externally. It is one of our visions reflecting our commitment to responsibility, with our sustainability strategy at the forefront of this effort.

To fulfill our vision of becoming a green organization we have established green initiatives and green enterprises that aim to develop employee mindset, day-to-day operations and community outreach. All of this will be undertaken with the belief that a green organization can not only produce valuable assets, but also reduce its carbon footprint and lessen its impact on the environment.

Samitivej has made a change in its drinking water packaging by using transparent, label-free bottles with smaller lids. This modification allows us to reduce the use of plastic by 2,692,824 pieces per year, resulting in a carbon footprint reduction of 3,230 kilograms.

To properly dispose of PET bottle waste, we encourage individuals to empty the contents of the bottle, remove the cap, compress or crush the bottle to minimize storage space, and then place it in the designated "recycle bin" for recycling.

These straws, made from plant-based materials, provide a similar feel to plastic while being 100% biodegradable and environmentally friendly.

Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital has installed a number of safe and sanitary water coolers in the following locations: General Pediatric and Well Baby Clinic (2nd Floor), Samitivej Esthetics Institute (5th Floor, Building 2), Wellness Center (3rd Floor, Building 2). We hope this encourages our patients and visitors to increase their usage of recyclable containers, reducing plastic waste as they do so.

Samitivej uses paper bags that take a mere 2-5 months to decompose, and which are printed on with environmentally friendly soy ink. However, since paper bags play their part in environmental impact, Samitivej continually looks for ways to minimize our use of paper products.

A comparison between plastic and paper bags

Samitivej is reducing its reliance on plastic coverings of dinnerware by putting them in safe and sanitized reusable containers in our inpatient rooms. This will reduce our overall consumption of such plastics by 20,000 pieces per month.

Samitivej is reducing its reliance on plastic coverings of dinnerware by putting them in safe and sanitized reusable containers in our inpatient rooms. This will reduce our overall consumption of such plastics by 20,000 pieces per month.

Our customers can view their latest health report through the Well by Samitivej application. Since 2020, together we have used 237,600 fewer sheets of paper, representing a carbon footprint reduction that helps reduce global warming up to 873 kilograms.

Samitivej Hospitals have traditionally used paper questionnaire forms for customer satisfaction surveys, Since 2020, a QR code has been available for our patients to scan instead, leading to an electronic version of the survey. From 2020-2022 we have used 267,600 fewer sheets of paper (89,200 sheets per year), representing a carbon footprint reduction that helps reduce global warming up to 983 kilograms.

• Samitivej has partnered with the "YOUTURN'' project to establish plastic waste separation points at Samitivej Sukhumvit and Samitivej Srinakarin Hospitals. You can bring used plastic, including stretched plastics like plastic bags and hard plastics like water bottles and various packaging bottles, to “YOUTURN” drop points for clean plastic. The plastic will go through a “sort and reuse” process to promote recycling efforts.
• Samitivej separates plastic water bottles to be recycled into PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Isolation Gowns for healthcare workers 
   

The hospital has used renewable solar energy generated by our Solar Rooftop since 2014. This has reduced electricity bills by 9,441,881.80 baht, representing a carbon footprint reduction that helps reduce global warming by 881,271.66 kilograms, equivalent to planting 26,303.26 trees.

Encouraging the stores located in our hospitals to cooperate by not handing out plastic bags and straws to customers, as well as promoting the use of containers brought in from home.

Moreover, we firmly believe that the most effective change begins within ourselves. Therefore, we actively encourage our staff to collaborate and support our initiatives through the following ways:

• Setting up a 5-person panel to oversee and manage sustainability operations
• Bringing their own containers and drink bottles to work
• Using bags made from cloth when buying products
• Promoting the responsible use of water and electricity
• Ensuring they shut down their computers when not in use
• Sharing unused goods in our donation boxes as part of the Pankan project. From 2018-2022, Samitivej employees shared 20,182 pieces of goods, worth 1,169,925 baht to be used for scholarships for children. 
• Organizing activities aimed at instilling sustainable ideals, including inviting lecturers from GEPP to speak about the benefits of waste separation (recycling), and our 5-person panel organizing the ‘Happy Mind Happy Birth Month’ litter collection activity at Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam

We would like to thank the following sources for their information

• Facebook: 3WheelsUncle
• Chula Zero Waste
•  www.moveworldtogether.com
• www.change.org
• www.royalparkrajapruek.org

We would like to thank the following sources for their information

• Facebook: 3WheelsUncle
• Chula Zero Waste
• www.moveworldtogether.com
• www.change.org
• www.royalparkrajapruek.org
• Book: The Green Guide, Because Our Planet is Boiling Hot!