• Health & Wellness

    Mayo Clinic celebrating all things green for Earth Day

glass globe laying in green grass of a forest, representing ecology and clean environment

Earth Day was founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues. The global celebration is sometimes extended into Earth Week, a full seven days of events focused on green living.
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Mayo Clinic is celebrating all things green this week to recognize Earth Day and the importance of environmental protection practices, celebrate successes and advance organizational efforts toward continued improvement.

Mayo Clinic is making great progress on its goal to reduce energy use on its campuses by 30% by 2025. For instance, Mayo's Department of Supply Chain Management is standardizing the replacement of ultracold freezers with more energy-efficient models. The change will reduce the amount of energy used by 60% per freezer and save up to $3.5 million over 10 years.

Other examples of energy conservation include:

  • Employing green sustainable building design, construction, and operational strategies to minimize environmental effects throughout the life of a building.
  • Practicing environmentally responsible purchasing and waste management through source reduction, re-use, and recycling programs.
  • Providing staff initiatives for employees, such as Green the Lab and Green at Home checklists, and the Green Advocate program.

For Earth Day, Mayo will visibly demonstrate its commitment to environmental sustainability by lighting buildings green on several campuses, including the Plummer Building in Rochester, Minn., The Cancer and Surgery Center at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, Wis., Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona and the Mayo Clinic sign in Florida ― using energy-efficient LED lights, of course.

This article is written by Mayo Clinic staff.