142
A. P. Blass et al.
lines. The need to monitor performance is underlined, but no framework of indicators
is presented.
Pinzone et al. (2016) report the findings of a survey on the impact of the ‘Green’
Human Resource Management (GHRM) policies within NHS Trusts. The study
showed that building competences and involvement practices have a positive influence at organizational level, improving the collective performance. The researchers
focused on Green HRM and did not identify or propose performance measurement
frameworks.
The paper by Ryan-Fogarty et al. (2016) describes the experience of the adoption
of the ‘Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda’ framework. The model was created by the coalition ‘Salud Sin Daño’ (Health Care Without Harm), an international
network of healthcare systems, hospitals, communities, unions and environmental
organizations. The framework encompasses 10 main objectives related to leadership,
chemicals, waste, energy, water, transportation, food, pharmaceuticals, buildings and
purchasing (GGHHA 2015). It lists a comprehensive set of objectives and actions
that can be implemented for environmental performance improvements. However,
no guidelines on how to develop specific indicators are presented. The experience
proved to be successful, according to the authors, generating learning through a
systematic approach to environmental management and evaluation.
Townend (1996) addresses healthcare waste and its impact on the environment.
The researcher highlights the importance to address the topic, considering sustainability concerns. Even though it is regarded as a seminal paper, performance measurement frameworks are not directly cited or studied.
Sadatsafavi et al. (2015) compared patient satisfaction in the case of ‘green’ hospitals (green facilities) and traditional hospitals. Data showed that patients’ satisfaction
achieved higher levels in the case of green facilities. However, as stated by the authors,
the impact of specific features on the experience of patients could not be verified.
The study by Yang et al. (2017) shows the development of a two-stage stochastic
programming to evaluate the effect of uncertainties in load demands, energy prices
and renewable energy intensity on a system’s economy and optimal design. The system selected for testing the model was a hospital in Lianyungang, China. The results
of the study indicated that the economy is overestimated if the system is designed
without considering uncertainties. Other dimensions were not directly addressed in
the model.
As per the analysis of set of 10 papers, it is possible to observe that frameworks
are proposed and/or reviewed in four of the references: Blass et al. (2017), Machado
et al. (2015), Ryan-Fogarty et al. (2016) and Yang et al. (2017). The remainder of
papers addresses different aspects of environmental concerns associated with hospitals related to resources (material and human) and patient satisfaction.
Only in Blass et al. (2017), there is a systematic approach to determining indicators
linked to organizational goals to report the environmental performance status to
stakeholders. Moreover, only two of the papers tested the frameworks in the context
of developing countries: Machado et al. (2015) and Blass et al. (2017).
To supplement the content analysis, the WordCloud
™ tool was used. The words
‘environmental’/‘environment’ (41), ‘healthcare/health’ (34), ‘green’ (22), ‘hospi-
A. P. Blass et al.
lines. The need to monitor performance is underlined, but no framework of indicators
is presented.
Pinzone et al. (2016) report the findings of a survey on the impact of the ‘Green’
Human Resource Management (GHRM) policies within NHS Trusts. The study
showed that building competences and involvement practices have a positive influence at organizational level, improving the collective performance. The researchers
focused on Green HRM and did not identify or propose performance measurement
frameworks.
The paper by Ryan-Fogarty et al. (2016) describes the experience of the adoption
of the ‘Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda’ framework. The model was created by the coalition ‘Salud Sin Daño’ (Health Care Without Harm), an international
network of healthcare systems, hospitals, communities, unions and environmental
organizations. The framework encompasses 10 main objectives related to leadership,
chemicals, waste, energy, water, transportation, food, pharmaceuticals, buildings and
purchasing (GGHHA 2015). It lists a comprehensive set of objectives and actions
that can be implemented for environmental performance improvements. However,
no guidelines on how to develop specific indicators are presented. The experience
proved to be successful, according to the authors, generating learning through a
systematic approach to environmental management and evaluation.
Townend (1996) addresses healthcare waste and its impact on the environment.
The researcher highlights the importance to address the topic, considering sustainability concerns. Even though it is regarded as a seminal paper, performance measurement frameworks are not directly cited or studied.
Sadatsafavi et al. (2015) compared patient satisfaction in the case of ‘green’ hospitals (green facilities) and traditional hospitals. Data showed that patients’ satisfaction
achieved higher levels in the case of green facilities. However, as stated by the authors,
the impact of specific features on the experience of patients could not be verified.
The study by Yang et al. (2017) shows the development of a two-stage stochastic
programming to evaluate the effect of uncertainties in load demands, energy prices
and renewable energy intensity on a system’s economy and optimal design. The system selected for testing the model was a hospital in Lianyungang, China. The results
of the study indicated that the economy is overestimated if the system is designed
without considering uncertainties. Other dimensions were not directly addressed in
the model.
As per the analysis of set of 10 papers, it is possible to observe that frameworks
are proposed and/or reviewed in four of the references: Blass et al. (2017), Machado
et al. (2015), Ryan-Fogarty et al. (2016) and Yang et al. (2017). The remainder of
papers addresses different aspects of environmental concerns associated with hospitals related to resources (material and human) and patient satisfaction.
Only in Blass et al. (2017), there is a systematic approach to determining indicators
linked to organizational goals to report the environmental performance status to
stakeholders. Moreover, only two of the papers tested the frameworks in the context
of developing countries: Machado et al. (2015) and Blass et al. (2017).
To supplement the content analysis, the WordCloud
™ tool was used. The words
‘environmental’/‘environment’ (41), ‘healthcare/health’ (34), ‘green’ (22), ‘hospi-