Kaiser Permanente is living up to its reputation as a global leader in sustainability, which is exemplified by their recent recognition as a Climate Action Leader by the California Climate Action Registry. While Kaiser California is being awarded for its actions to calculate, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, the entire national organization has been taking steps to help the environment for years. Kaiser Insurance members are also encouraged to take their own steps toward being ?green.?

One way that Kaiser Insurance is encouraging members to be eco-friendly is with their Community Health Initiatives that help to build parks and bike paths in an effort to promote physical activity and reduce air pollution. Kaiser Permanente also hosts farmers 30 markets in six states to reduce car trips to shops and increase access to locally grown produce. And between 2006 and 2008, Kaiser California used 20 percent less water than the average hospital in the state by converting to digital imaging machines that save water without using harmful chemicals.

The list of energy saving and eco-friendly practices goes on. In 2008, for example, Kaiser Permanente purchased energy-efficient laptops, desktop computers and monitors that earned at least a silver-rating by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. The Kaiser Insurance organization also resold or recycled 74,000 pieces of electronic equipment the same years through a partnership with Redemtech. Recycling is a big deal for Kaiser California, where construction crews recycled 100 percent of the building materials generated during the demolition of two warehouses at the site of a new hospital.

If more organizations can follow the lead of Kaiser Permanente with emission reduction, recycling and various community programs, the impact on the environment could be quite noticeable. In order to see truly evident changes in the environment, however, it requires participation from individuals and organizations on a global scale.