KAISER PERMANENTE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM
Kathy Gerwig, Vice President
Bria Schlottman, Green Team Co-Chair, Kaiser Permanente San Rafael
Nan Moon, Health Promotion Manager, Kaiser Permanente San Rafael, Environmental Stewardship Officer, Kaiser Permanente

Zero Breast Cancer presented the Francine Levien Activist Award to the Kaiser Permanente Environmental Stewardship Program. In January 2012, Kaiser Permanente announced that it was converting its intravenous medical equipment to more eco-friendly alternatives that are free of PVC and DHEP, two industrial chemicals used in plastics that have been shown to harm human and environmental health. This was the latest step in KP's multi-year, national initiative to make research-based decisions and create policies that protect the health of its members and the communities it serves. The organization's Division of Research (DOR) frequently conducts studies evaluating the health effects of chemical exposures and publicizes those results for the benefit of the community.

Under the leadership of Kathy Gerwig, Vice-President for Employee Safety, Health and Wellness and Environmental Stewardship Officer, Kaiser Permanente has instituted programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advance green building practices, and promote the use of safer chemicals and sustainable food choices in its hospitals and clinics.

Through the system-wide use of a Sustainability Scorecard, KP is shaping best practices and sharing its success stories with other healthcare providers. Ms. Gerwig has testified before the U.S. Senate about "healthcare without harm" and the need for appropriate government regulation of potentially harmful chemicals in the environment. As the healthcare industry’s largest group purchasing organization, Kaiser Permanente is sourcing products with safer ingredients and accelerating improvements in safer chemical use throughout the health care sector.

At the local level, each Kaiser Permanente facility is charged with implementing and monitoring the Environmental Stewardship Program. Bria Schlottman, MBA, Transportation Manager and Co-Chair of the Green Team and Nan Moon, MPH, RD, Manager of Community, Worksite and Health Promotion at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael, accepted the award on behalf of Kathy Gerwig and Kaiser Permanente.