Energy efficiency, material health, indoor air quality, and sustainability have remained key priorities for healthcare organizations seeking to reduce carbon emissions while creating healthier healing environments. Leading the way is UCI Health, named the 2026 HCD 10 Outstanding Organization.
As one of California’s largest academic health systems and the clinical enterprise of University of California, Irvine, UCI Health approaches environmental stewardship through the lens of patient health, community resilience, and operational performance.
The organization has backed that commitment with ambitious goals. After joining the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, UCI Health signed the White House Health Sector Climate Pledge in 2022, committing to a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, including reducing operating room emissions and medical waste.
More recently, UCI Health became the first University of California health system—and the fourth healthcare organization in California—to earn Sustainable Healthcare Certification from the Joint Commission.
Those decarbonization efforts are most visible at the new UCI Health – Irvine medical campus in Irvine, Calif., which opened in December 2025. Setting a new benchmark for sustainable healthcare design, the 144-bed facility is the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital and is on track to receive LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Powered entirely by an all-electric central utility plant with no on-site natural gas combustion, the campus incorporates on-site solar power, energy storage, and water recycling systems, along with fully electrified clinical infrastructure and food service operations.
The all-electric medical campus also includes the Joe C. Wen & Family UCI Health Center for Advanced Care, a 168,000-square-foot outpatient facility that achieved LEED Platinum certification in 2024, and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building, a 225,000-square-foot LEED Gold-certified facility that opened in 2024.
Beyond energy performance, UCI Health also prioritizes healthier interiors, working with suppliers to help establish higher standards for healthcare furnishings. As part of the Irvine campus project, the organization collaborated with manufacturers to eliminate chemicals of concern from the building environment, with 99 percent of the furniture used in the facility reportedly free of harmful materials or off-gassing compounds. By driving demand for environmentally preferable products, UCI Health is helping encourage vendors to develop lower-toxicity furniture lines and broadening access for others across the healthcare sector.
To help sustain these efforts beyond individual projects, UCI Health established a 20-member multidisciplinary Sustainable Leadership Committee to align clinical, operational, and facility goals. “UCI Health recognizes the connection between human health, environmental health, and the well-being of our patients,” says Tony Dover, energy management and sustainability officer at UCI Health. “We want to continue advancing climate solutions that make a difference.”
By responding to the growing need for healthcare facilities that are resilient to climate change, UCI Health is helping define a more sustainable model for the industry.
Click here to read more about the 2026 HCD 10 winners.
