Sustainable healthcare for all Victorians

VHBA is including sustainable features in new and existing health, mental health and aged care infrastructure across Victoria.

Victoria’s Climate Change Strategy sets out to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

A net zero target means that by 2050 Victoria will reduce its emissions as far as possible, and any remaining emissions will be offset.

By installing lower energy alternatives now, we can ensure that our healthcare system delivers world class healthcare with the lowest possible footprint.

Investing in our health and our planet together

Energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy is at the forefront in making our healthcare more sustainable. For all new hospitals being built in Victoria, 60 per cent of the roof space is designed for solar panels. This involves several design considerations including roof spaces that face the right direction for maximum exposure to the sun and allowing for the electrical infrastructure for solar panels.

The solar panels installed in Victorian hospitals have already made a significant impact. In 2018-19, solar arrays on Victoria’s public hospitals generated 1.4 gigawatt-hours of electricity. In 2020-21 this increased to 9.8 gigawatt-hours and we are on track to generate more than 10 gigawatt-hours of solar power in 2022-23. The increase in solar energy reduced carbon emissions by some 9,500 tonnes.

Protecting our biodiversity

Additionally, by taking steps to increase biodiversity around facilities and campuses, we enhance patients, staff and visitors experience and lighten the facility's environmental footprint.

Our sustainability guidelines aim to deliver a net biodiversity increase to the site from landscaping. We do this by using locally indigenous flora, planting for habitat and enhancing biodiversity.

These sustainable design choices will contribute to lower environmental impacts and operating costs, and support the creation of healthier, healing environments for patients, visitors and staff.

VHBA’s latest projects will be ready to take advantage of the shift to renewables.

It may be surprising, but currently approximately 40 per cent of the energy hospitals use comes from natural gas. Gas creates more emissions than renewable electricity, and it is not a renewable energy.

The Victorian Government has committed to using 100 per cent renewable electricity from 2025 for all its operations, including public hospitals.

In Frankston, we are building our first all-electric powered addition to an existing hospital.

The Frankston Hospital redevelopment will include a new all-electric 12-storey clinical services tower. It will provide:

• a new main entrance
• 130 new beds
• new spaces for treating mental health
• new spaces for oncology services
• expanded women’s and children’s services
• 15 new operating theatres.

The redevelopment will also incorporate innovative energy-saving technology to reduce energy and water consumption and minimise resource use.

While our new projects may be leading the way in sustainability, what does this mean for all the hospitals that are already built?

While Victoria’s existing hospitals and healthcare facilities aren’t yet all-electric, we’re working on other ways to improve the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability across the public health system.

Making hospitals more efficient

We are continuing to invest in lighting replacements, energy efficiency upgrades and installing on-site solar to reduce dependency on the electricity grid in Victorian hospitals.

In hospitals that are being refurbished, we’re investing in efficient heating and cooling. We also support the replacement of gas appliances and equipment with electrical equipment and provide grants to help eligible health services upgrade.

At Ballan Health and Care, high efficiency boilers have been fitted in the facility. Funded through the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund, these boilers will reduce the footprint of the hospital on the environment.

Greening our smaller health facilities

At smaller healthcare facilities, we’re supporting refurbishments to enable buildings to go all-electric. These facilities tend to require less energy to operate given that they are physically smaller. This makes it easier to heat and cool with all-electric equipment.

The Regional Health Solar Fund (2019-2021) installed around 8.8 megawatt-peak of solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays across 79 Victorian health facilities.

We have removed gas infrastructure and installed solar panels at Lismore Community Health Centre and Macarthur Community Health Centre in regional Victoria. The two community health centres are now operating without using liquified petroleum gas.

Another recent project was switching the steam boiler kettle, hot box, and bain marie in the Colac Hospital kitchen from gas to electric, allowing the removal of a gas boiler.

Beaufort and Skipton Hospital has installed biomass boilers that burn wood chips and olive pips to provide heating and hot water.

When we design our hospitals and healthcare buildings to be more environmentally sustainable, the benefits aren’t just to the environment. Sustainable practices create healthier, healing environments for patients, visitors and staff.

Learn more about our sustainability projects.

This page was updated 2 October 2023.