Measuring environmental performance in hospitals: a framework and process
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a new framework to define relevant and meaningful indicators for monitoring and assessing environmental performance to improve health-care systems and operations.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive literature review followed by field studies conducted with ten hospitals in the southern region of Brazil underlined the scarcity of consistent frameworks applied in practice to measure, monitor and improve environmental performance. A new framework was developed and proposed to address this issue. The proposed framework is operationalized through a “process approach” and evaluated in terms of feasibility (Can the process be followed?), usability (Is the approach easily followed?) and utility (Are the results useful for managers?).
Findings
The paper proposes a framework and a process to evaluate the environmental performance in hospitals.
Practical implications
The proposed framework represents meaningful guidance to managers for strategy formalization, goal setting and environmental performance assessment and monitoring.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a systematic framework for measuring environmental performance in hospitals drawn from the literature review, current legislation and best practices reported in literature.
Keywords
Citation
Pasqualini Blass, A., Gouvea da Costa, S.E., Pinheiro de Lima, E. and Borges, L.A. (2016), "Measuring environmental performance in hospitals: a framework and process", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 52-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/MBE-03-2015-0011
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Reprinted with permission of the Institute of Industrial Engineers from the Proceedings of the 2014 Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference (ISERC). All rights reserved.