Governor Kathy Hochul today launched a
first-in-the-nation, voluntary climate action pilot
program for hospitals, focused on improving worker health and
safety while addressing the harmful impacts of climate change on
the environment. The program provides premium credits of up to $1
million to New York State Insurance Fund-insured hospitals that
pledge to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and
enhance their resilience to extreme weather events, helping
mitigate the climate-related hazards that contribute to steep
increases in workplace injuries and illnesses. The pilot builds on
Governor Hochul’s commitment to building a greener, more
sustainable future for New Yorkers, as well as recent investments
secured in the FY 2025 Enacted Budget to advance the Governor’s
climate agenda.
“New York is taking action to maintain our status as a global
leader in the fight against climate change,” Governor
Hochul said. “This pilot program will incentivize
hospitals to reduce their environmental impact and create a safer
and healthier New York. From leveraging our insurance policies to
transformative investments in this year’s budget, we are using
every tool at our disposal to build a greener, more sustainable
future for all New Yorkers.”
NYSIF Executive Director and CEO Gaurav Vasisht
said, “The health care sector is at the frontlines of the
global climate crisis, confronting its public health impacts and
system disruptions while contributing significantly to greenhouse
gas emissions. With 2023 the hottest year on record, and as extreme
heat contributes to a growing number of worker injuries and
illnesses, NYSIF is uniquely positioned to catalyze transformative
climate action, offering incentives that improve worker safety
while freeing up resources for hospitals to accomplish their
goals.”
The U.S. health care industry is the leading emitter of GHGs,
accounting for 8.5 percent of all national emissions and
approximately a quarter of health care emissions globally.
Hospitals are the most significant GHG contributors within health
care, with most of their emissions produced indirectly in the
supply chain, such as through purchased energy, anesthetics,
pharmaceuticals, food and single-use plastic medical and surgical
supplies.
The pilot provides NYSIF’s hospital policyholders an upfront
credit of 5 percent on their workers’ compensation premium, up to
$1 million per policy, when they pledge to develop a climate action
plan to monitor, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions
and enhance their resilience to climate-related disruptions. The
upfront credit will free up crucial funds immediately for hospitals
to develop their action plans, laying the foundation for their
future emissions reduction and resilience strategies. An ongoing
premium credit of 5 percent, up to $1 million per policy, will be
available to hospitals each year they progress toward their planned
milestones. Over time, hospitals may channel the ongoing credit –
and any savings from reduced emissions – into direct patient care
and further enhancing their resilience to climate-related
disruptions.
Governor Hochul also announced the release of Insurance as a
Catalyst for Climate Action, NYSIF’s groundbreaking report
detailing the need to reduce hospital GHG emissions and analyzing
NYSIF’s claims data to explore the relationship between extreme
temperature and worker safety. Consistent with leading academic
research, the analysis, which encompassed approximately 95,000
claims, found a higher correlation in the frequency and severity of
workplace injuries and illnesses on extreme heat days. The data
showed that when the heat index is over 80°F injuries resulting in
claims were 45 percent more likely to arise and 20 percent more
severe. NYSIF intends to study its data further to better
understand these correlations.
To receive the premium credits, hospital climate action plans
must identify long-term strategies to reduce both direct and
indirect emissions, including those produced in the supply chain
for anesthetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and single-use plastics and
medical supplies. The plans must also detail supply chain
vulnerabilities and contingencies and outline the hospital’s
procurement approach to encouraging hospital suppliers and vendors
to account for and report their own emissions information over
time. Plans must also incorporate safeguards to ensure positive
impacts to employees and the hospital’s surrounding community.
Beyond the premium credits, the pilot also offers access to
NYSIF’s risk control services, including consultation, resources,
and training, focused on strategies to confront climate-related
challenges. The services will help participating hospitals,
particularly smaller and rural hospitals, implement strategies to
mitigate climate hazards and promote worker well-being. NYSIF will
also create a forum for hospitals to learn from each other’s
experiences as they carry out efforts to reduce emissions and seek
to become more resilient.
The initiative will apply to NYSIF’s current and prospective
workers’ compensation policyholders, with premium credits available
for the duration of a hospital’s demonstrated commitment to work
towards the goal of achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050. The
pilot has the potential to generate hundreds of millions in
cumulative premium credits and cost savings for participating
hospitals, which they may invest to further strengthen patient care
and health outcomes.
NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “New York's
clean energy transition is helping strengthen the resiliency
of buildings across New York State – including hospitals - to
withstand the impacts of our changing climate. This new NYSIF
initiative will incentivize hospitals to take control of their
energy use, adopt clean and efficient technologies, and reduce
their carbon footprint in support of a zero-emission future.”
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim
Commissioner Sean Mahar said, “The New York State Insurance
Fund’s new premium credit program for hospitals is an innovative
and meaningful approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across
all sectors of the economy, which is central to the State’s
continued progress in meeting our climate goals. Providing
hospitals with this incentive will have a positive ripple effect
throughout the economy as suppliers are engaged in the pursuit of
decarbonization while also helping hospitals statewide recognize
the benefits of increased resilience to severe storms and extreme
weather.”
State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “The
climate has changed, even in our lifetime, this is apparent. We
will continue to identify and leverage innovative solutions to
counter the negative impacts of climate change on public and
personal health. Rising temperatures caused by greenhouse gas
emissions pose significant health threats, contributing to
increasing rates of heat stroke, wildfires that negatively affect
air quality, and the spread of vector-borne disease, like Lyme
disease and West Nile virus. Hospitals are among our best
front-line partners in responding to the health impacts of climate
change. This groundbreaking pilot program incentivizes hospitals to
commit to long-term climate solutions while prioritizing workplace
health and safety.”
President of the New York State AFL-CIO Mario
Cilento said, “Extreme heat conditions contribute to
worker illness, injury, and sometimes death. We must do everything
we can to ensure workplace safety and this pilot program is a good
start. I applaud NYSIF for finding ways to improve worker health
and safety while addressing climate change.
Governor Hochul’s Nation-Leading Climate
PlanNew York State's climate agenda calls for an orderly
and just transition that creates family-sustaining jobs, continues
to foster a green economy across all sectors and ensures that at
least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits of
clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities.
Guided by some of the nation’s most aggressive climate and clean
energy initiatives, New York is advancing a suite of efforts –
including the New York Cap-and-Invest program (NYCI) and other
complementary policies – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40
percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels. New York
is also on a path to achieving a zero-emission electricity sector
by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030,
and economy-wide carbon neutrality by mid-century. A cornerstone of
this transition is New York's unprecedented clean energy
investments, including more than $40 billion in 64 large-scale
renewable and transmission projects across the state, $6.8 billion
to reduce building emissions, $3.3 billion to scale up solar,
nearly $3 billion for clean transportation initiatives and over $2
billion in NY Green Bank commitments. These and other investments
are supporting more than 170,000 jobs in New York’s clean energy
sector as of 2022 and over 3,000 percent growth in the distributed
solar sector since 2011. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
improve air quality, New York also adopted zero-emission vehicle
regulations, including requiring all new passenger cars and
light-duty trucks sold in the state be zero emission by 2035.
Partnerships are continuing to advance New York’s climate action
with more than 400 registered and more than 130 certified Climate
Smart Communities, nearly 500 Clean Energy Communities, and the
state’s largest community air monitoring initiative in 10
disadvantaged communities across the state to help target air
pollution and combat climate change.
About NYSIFWith nearly 200,000 policyholders,
$1.9 billion in annual premiums, and over $20 billion in invested
assets, NYSIF is the largest workers' compensation insurer in New
York State and among the ten largest nationwide. NYSIF's mission is
to guarantee the availability of workers' compensation, disability
insurance and paid family leave at the lowest possible cost to New
York employers while maintaining a solvent fund. Since its
inception in 1914, NYSIF has fulfilled this mission by competing
with other insurance carriers to ensure a fair marketplace while
serving as a guaranteed source of coverage for employers who cannot
secure coverage elsewhere. NYSIF strives to achieve the best health
outcomes for injured workers and be an industry leader in price,
quality, and service for New York employers. For more information,
visit nysif.com.
Sita Fey
NYSIF
607-434-9369
sfey@nysif.com