Green environmental management system (gems) | veterans affairs

ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Congratulations to the Phoenix VAHCS Green Environmental Management System (GEMS), proud recipient of the Practice Greenhealth 2023 Environmental Excellence

Award for environmental efforts and achievements. Practice Greenhealth is an online platform that onboards information from hundreds of hospitals in the United States and compares

environmental inroads and initiatives. GEMS IN PHOENIX The Phoenix Green Environmental Management System (GEMS), a framework to manage its environmental impacts. A central part of the GEMS

program is the GEMS Committee. Comprised of a cross-functional team from different services, the GEMS Committee meets monthly to work on environmental stewardship, regulatory compliance, and

has developed policy that requires adherence to the following environmental management principles: * Stewardship * Compliance * Pollution Prevention * Environmental Planning * Continual

Improvement IMPACTS TO AIR, LAND, WATER, AND WASTE PRODUCTION Providing quality healthcare produces wastes and causes impacts to air, land, and water. Phoenix VA minimizes these impacts

while complying with all applicable environmental laws and regulations. We do this through the work of the Phoenix VA GEMS Program, the GEMS Committee, employee training, policies, and

internal VA environmental compliance audits. In addition, the Phoenix VA GEMS Program works closely with environmental regulators from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality,

Maricopa County, and the City of Phoenix to ensure our environmental impacts are managed properly.  IMPACTS TO AIR * Use of emergency generators * Refrigerants * Boilers run on natural gas

to provide comfort cooling and heating IMPACTS TO LAND * Use of tanks to store fuel for emergency power generation IMPACTS TO WASTE * General trash * Used oil * Hazardous waste *

Pharmaceutical waste * Regulated medical waste * Universal waste such as light bulbs and batteries IMPACTS TO WATER * Construction (storm water) * Sanitary sewer ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Environmental stewardship is an important component of Phoenix VA Health Care System GEMS program. On a quarterly basis, Phoenix VA diverts a monthly average of 25 tons of waste from

landfills through various recycling programs.