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UCI Health honored as a 2022 Climate Champion

December 13, 2022
UCI Health conservation champion award from Healthcare without Harm.

Orange, Calif. – UCI Health is proud to announce it has been named a 2022 Climate Champion by Health Care Without Harm. The Climate Champion Awards recognize healthcare organizations for their progress and commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across three pillars: mitigation, resilience and leadership.

Health Care Without Harm engages and equips healthcare institutions worldwide — from small clinics to large health systems to ministries of health — to commit to effective climate action while building collective impact across countries and borders through its Health Care Climate Challenge.

As a Health Care Climate Challenge participant, UCI Health has been recognized for its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint with the following awards:

  • Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Energy) – Gold
  • Renewable Energy – Gold
  • Climate Leadership – Gold
  • Climate Resilience – Silver

“We are honored to receive these awards and to be a part of a global community of healthcare institutions leading the transformation to climate-smart healthcare,” said UCI Health Chief Operating Officer Nathan Shinagawa. “We celebrate this moment with everyone in our organization and with our colleagues around the world.”

In August 2021, UCI Health became a member of the United Nations-backed global campaign Race to Zero. Through this campaign, the academic health system has pledged to reach net-zero emissions — cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible — by 2050 and to report annually on its progress towards these goals.

The UCI Health commitment to environmental sustainability is also reflected in these recent milestones:

  • Named a Conservation Champion for water-saving efficiency and conservation efforts by Water Savers Solutions
  • Recognized as a national leader in environmental sustainability with two Circle of Excellence awards from Practice Greenhealth
  • Recipient of the Greenhealth Emerald Award, Practice Greenhealth's special honor recognizing an organization’s ongoing commitment to build sustainability into its operations and culture

"We look forward to the work ahead of us as we strive to protect the future health of our community, environment and planet,” Shinagawa said.


UCI Health is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine, and the only academic health system in Orange County. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, Calif. The 459-bed acute care hospital, listed among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for 22 consecutive years, provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centerhigh-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.