Key messages
- Victorian public hospitals and health services must develop an environmental management plan and publicly report on their environmental performance.
- Use this page to access resources for health services on environmental management planning.
- You can access a guide on Victorian public health service environmental sustainability requirements.
Victorian public hospitals and health services are required through the Department of Health policy and funding guidelines to develop and maintain a whole-of-organisation environmental management plan and to publicly report on their environmental performance – in accordance with the department’s Environmental reporting guidelines.
We have produced resources to assist health services meet these requirements:
- Health service environmental sustainability requirements: guide of requirements
Health service environmental sustainability requirements
- Completing your environmental management plan: instructions and checklist
Completing your environmental management plan and checklist
- Environmental management plan template
Environmental Management Plan template
- Sample environmental management actions template
Environmental Management Plan actions template - sample
Environmental requirements and environmental management planning
Health service environmental sustainability requirements
The Environmental sustainability strategy 2018–19 to 2022–23 sets out the department's commitment to further improve the environmental performance of the health system.
This is the primary guiding document for environmental sustainability, with the department's environmental management plan template providing guidance on how health services can operationalise it.
Include all requirements below, where applicable, in the environmental management plan, which should be reviewed annually to ensure that is up-to-date [1].
| Requirement | Who it applies to | Summary | Further information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy and funding guidelines – environmental management plan | All public hospitals and health services | All health services to have an EMP in place. A template is available. | |
| Policy and funding guidelines – public reporting on environmental performance | All public hospitals and health services | a) All health services must report their environmental data into their annual report, and | a) Further information will be included in the Health services annual report 2019–20: Guidelines for the report of operations prior to the 2019–20 reporting period. [b) See Public environmental reporting on this page. |
| Statement of priorities – supporting environmental sustainability | All public hospitals and health services | Contribute to improving the environmental sustainability of the health system by identifying and implementing projects and/or processes to reduce carbon emissions. | Statement of Priorities requirements |
| Sustainability guidelines for healthcare capital works | DHHS/ health services | All healthcare capital works delivered by the department must meet the guidelines for sustainability in healthcare capital works. | Sustainability guidelines |
| National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) | Health services meeting the threshold | Health services meeting certain thresholds. Use the NPI guide to determine whether your facility should report emissions and transfers of substances to the NPI. | NPI |
| National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme | Sites required to report under the NGER Act 2007 | Health services can determine if they are required to report by using the ‘assess potential obligations’ from the guides and factsheet section of the NGERs website. | NGER and NGER guides and on the Clean Energy Regulator website. |
| E-waste to landfill ban | All Victorians, including hospitals | All appliances powered by a battery or electric cord, can no longer be disposed of in landfill and must be recycled. | E-waste in on the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning website. |
| Clinical and related waste guidelines | All Victorian hospitals, health facilities | All clinical waste must be disposed of according to the Clinical and related waste – operational guidance. | Clinical waste on the Environmental Protection Authority website. |
| PVC recycling | All metropolitan health services | PVC items (oxygen masks, oxygen tubing and Baxter IV bags) generated in theatre, renal and ICU must be recycled. | Recycling in hospitals |
Other environmental opportunities
This section contains non-mandatory opportunities, that health services are encouraged to review and adopt.
Some of these may apply to the government or sector as a whole and may become mandatory in the future.
| Topic | Who it applies to | Summary | Further information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waste audit guidelines | All public hospitals and health services | All health services are encouraged to use the department’s waste audit guidelines when conducting waste audits | Waste audit guidelines |
| Climate change adaptation plan | DH | All departments required to develop adaptation action plans under the Climate Health Act. This commences by November 2020, but the department is part of a pilot prior to the commencement of the legislation. Further information will be provided as this part of the departments work. | Climate change and on the Better Health Channel |
| Fleet efficiency plan | Victorian public hospitals | All health services are encouraged to develop a fleet efficiency plan | Fleet management |
[1] While best efforts are made to keep this information up to date, health services are responsible for meeting legislative requirements. If there are any requirements that are not included, please email sustainability@health.vic.gov.au.
Environmental management planning
Victorian public hospitals and health services must develop and maintain a whole-of-organisation environmental management plan, and publicly report on their environmental performance.
This is in accordance with the department's Environmental reporting guidelines.
We have developed an environmental management plan (EMP) template to assist health services to meet these requirements. The template includes a separate customisable multiple purpose action plan, and there is a guide to help you complete the plan.
The EMP template has minimal formatting so you can import it into your health service's visual style templates.
Access the files via the downloads section at the bottom of this page.
Public environmental reporting
Public environmental reporting is the public disclosure of an organisation’s performance around its environmental impacts, such as energy and water consumption, and generation of waste and carbon emissions.
Transparency about environmental performance encourages improvements in environmental management practices.
Public hospitals, health services and other health portfolio entities must report on mandatory environmental indicators under Financial Reporting Direction 24: Reporting of environmental data by government entities (FRD ).
FRD 24 specifies the environmental performance indicators that entities must measure and report in their annual report of operations (12 months of data).
Environmental reporting typically involves:
- determining ‘reporting boundaries’ and ‘materiality’ around environmental impacts
- collecting data about impacts, reporting metrics and normalising factors
- commenting on factors that may have affected changes in performance
- reporting on performance, actions and future plans to improve performance.
The Public environmental reporting guidelines provides guidance to Victorian public hospitals, health services and other health portfolio entities on how to meet FRD 24 reporting requirements.
The Environmental data management system generates an environmental performance report in accordance with the Public environmental reporting guidelines.
To access the environmental data management system, contact your health service EDMS via email edms@health.vic.gov.au.
Reviewed 10 November 2023