The health care provider is using data and automation to drive measurable impact at scale across more than 50 facilities
AdventHealth is transforming health care sustainability by building a comprehensive, data-driven program across its network of over 50 hospitals. By leveraging Watershed for automated data collection they have developed facility-specific plans and achieved strong executive support, setting ambitious targets including 50% emissions reduction by 2030.
Challenge
Their sustainability team faced complex challenges including limited data infrastructure, a complex supply chain, and health care-specific emissions sources. Their initial Excel-based tracking system was time-consuming and inadequate for measuring their multi-state operations and extensive supply chain emissions.
Solution
AdventHealth worked with Watershed to create an automated data collection system that could handle their health care-specific emissions sources and vast supplier network. Watershed’s platform enables them to gather detailed information from suppliers, develop methodologies for tracking and reporting across their facilities, and build confidence in their data quality.
Results
• Leveraging reliable data: AdventHealth has used its data to set a 50% emissions reduction target by 2030, implement renewable power purchase agreements, and create supplier engagement programs.
• Faster reporting: With quality data at their fingertips in Watershed, the company reduced its time to create annual reports from six months to three months.
• Maximizing sustainability impact: Pairing finance and supply chain leaders as sustainability co-heads has created natural buy-in and resulted in faster implementation.
• Organization-wide transformation: Strong executive support and employee engagement have helped drive progress toward their emissions reduction targets.
Challenge
Building a comprehensive environmental sustainability program presented a new challenge for AdventHealth, one of the largest faith-based, not-for-profit health systems in the United States operating more than 50 hospital campuses in 9 diverse states. The initiative required careful integration with the organization's core missions of patient care and operational excellence.
AdventHealth took an innovative approach to its environmental sustainability program by appointing two co-leaders: Rob Roy, Chief Investment Officer, and Marisa Farabaugh, Chief Supply Chain Officer. This unique setup differs from traditional sustainability leadership models by placing senior leadership in two critical business areas at the helm of environmental sustainability initiatives.
Putting Roy and Farabaugh in co-leadership roles has helped to build buy-in at the senior and C-suite levels, enabled faster decision-making, and resulted in direct responsibility over some major emissions sources.
"Having responsibility for functional groups with huge carbon footprints means greater connectivity to important work groups," explains Farabaugh. "This structure has allowed us to move more quickly on initiatives."
When the program first launched, AdventHealth had little data and infrastructure to measure its carbon footprint. The complex organizational structure spanning multiple states and facilities created additional complexities, along with health care-specific emissions sources, such as anesthetic gases, and extensive supply chain needs.
Initially, the environmental sustainability team spent considerable time gathering data and building a repository via Excel. However, using Excel was sub-optimal given the complexity of this work. In the early days, it would take AdventHealth about six months post-year-end to finalize a report. "We wanted to accelerate our process for more real-time insights,” explains Rob Roy, Chief Investment Officer and Co-Head of Environmental Sustainability.
“We quickly realized after our first year of doing scopes 1-3 estimations that this work is super complex and our existing tools were not fit for this purpose.”
Rob Roy,
Chief Investment Officer and Co-Head of Environmental Sustainability
Like most provider organizations, AdventHealth has a sophisticated and complex supply chain routing many finished goods to thousands of locations within the system. Supply chain carbon footprint resides within scope 3 and can be very difficult to measure due to the amount of products and suppliers. This scope 3 includes medical supplies, equipment, devices, lab supplies, cleaning and sanitization supplies, linens and laundry, office supplies, building maintenance materials, and facility operations—and it extends to external laboratories and equipment maintenance. "We needed a way to more quickly account for our supply chain and generate a more accurate carbon footprint, as well as to give suppliers already on their environmental sustainability journey credit for the important work that they're doing," says Marisa Farabaugh, Chief Supply Chain Officer and Co-Head of Environmental Sustainability.
Solution
Roy and Farabaugh led a rigorous evaluation process, seeking more than just a data provider—they were interested in a strategic partner that could deliver reliable, accurate reporting while driving decisive action. Watershed emerged as that partner. For Roy, Watershed's ability to anticipate and adapt to evolving reporting requirements was a game-changer. Farabaugh saw another strategic advantage: many of AdventHealth's key suppliers were already on the platform, creating a ready-made ecosystem for collaboration.
"Our network of information becomes exponentially greater when we can gather information from different links in the chain," Farabaugh explains. "We believe the Watershed platform will ultimately allow us to see our carbon footprint from further upstream and help us deliver a more resilient supply chain."
The implementation process focused on three key areas. First, AdventHealth worked with Watershed to automate data collection across its 50+ hospitals, replacing manual analysis processes with streamlined digital solutions. Second, they developed specialized methodologies to accurately measure health care-specific emissions sources, including anesthetic gases and medical equipment. Finally, they created comprehensive frameworks for supplier engagement and reporting, leveraging Watershed's existing supplier relationships to gather more accurate scope 3 data.
“We were impressed by Watershed’s relentless focus on problem-solving and their ability to stay abreast of a rapidly evolving industry.”
Rob Roy,
Chief Investment Officer and Co-Head of Environmental Sustainability
Results
The unique partnership between the finance and supply chain teams has proven transformative for AdventHealth's environmental sustainability program. By aligning financial and supply chain capabilities, AdventHealth has established a robust framework that bridges operational and environmental sustainability objectives, helping the entire organization elevate the program to a board-level priority.
This strategic structure has created strong buy-in from executives and board members, securing crucial resources and support for ambitious targets, including a 50% emissions reduction by 2030. "We're fortunate as leaders because much of our C-Suite is in support of our environmental sustainability work and helping to resource this program," says Roy. This has translated into tangible commitments: dedicated budgets for sustainability initiatives, integration of climate considerations into investment decisions, and robust data collection.
In less than four years, AdventHealth has leveraged its enhanced data capabilities to develop and implement concrete environmental sustainability initiatives. The organization has set ambitious targets—including net zero emissions by 2050—while taking immediate action through renewable power purchase agreements and facility-specific plans.
A key focus has been expanding renewable energy adoption across its facilities. Through partnerships with utility companies nationwide, AdventHealth has made significant strides in supporting local renewable-energy projects. One such program is SolarTogether, a community solar program that has enabled two AdventHealth locations to source over 61 percent of their energy usage from in-state renewable energy sources as of 2023, avoiding the release of over 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. At its Orlando campus, AdventHealth has installed more than 1,800 solar panels on one of its parking garages, generating 1.3 million kilowatt hours annually—equivalent to powering 70 American homes for one year. As a result, it has been credited over $300,000 since October 2020 by its local power company.
Additionally, AdventHealth also launched a solar project at its corporate campus, installing 7,500 panels which produce roughly three megawatts of capacity. In February 2024, AdventHealth signed and began receiving electricity from its first virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Colorado-based renewable energy developer Scout Clean Energy, which will match approximately 40% of AdventHealth’s electrical usage.
Beyond renewable energy initiatives, AdventHealth has also pioneered innovative approaches to tracking health care-specific carbon outputs and developed targeted supplier engagement programs to address scope 3 emissions.
The focus on data quality has been particularly crucial, helping them build credibility through reliable metrics and enabling confident decision-making backed by accurate numbers. This data-driven approach has proven essential for building investment cases and tracking progress across their network of facilities. And, with quality data at their fingertips in Watershed, they’ve been able to reduce the time to create annual reports from over six months to three months.
“Having high-quality data in Watershed that we can rely upon means we don't have to question our own credibility when we stand up and speak to leadership about these things. We're standing on a good platform, we can credibly talk about our plans, and we can confidently take action.”
Rob Roy,
Chief Investment Officer and Co-Head of Environmental Sustainability
AdventHealth’s environmental sustainability program's success has sparked widespread enthusiasm throughout the organization. [19] "We've been blown away by the number of ideas that have popped out of the woodwork across the organization," Roy notes. "People were already working on these things—we've just given them license and voice by solidifying our program."
This groundswell of engagement has been matched by sustained executive support. As Farabaugh explains, "We're fortunate that our CEO, CFO, CAO and C-suite are also leading the way and fully support this work.”
AdventHealth is poised for its next phase of environmental sustainability impact: going into 2025, each of its 50+ facilities will work with the corporate team to develop their own environmental sustainability plan, enabling individual hospitals to drive tailored, high-impact initiatives while maintaining organizational alignment. The organization is also expanding its supplier engagement initiatives and deepening its focus on health care-specific emissions sources.
"The purpose of any of this type of work is at a global level, much bigger than a single organization," Farabaugh reflects. "We can't accomplish this purpose alone. The network effect both internally with our stakeholders and externally amongst our suppliers is crucial. If we can help people understand this work is important and accessible with tools like Watershed at our disposal, we can keep telling the story and accelerating all of our impact."
