Compendium of Federal Resources for Health Sector Emissions Reduction and Resilience

The White House
Provides an overview of the clean energy, climate mitigation and resilience, agriculture, and conservation-related tax incentives and investment programs in the Inflation Reduction Act, including who is eligible to apply for funding and for what activities. Learn more at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Inflation-Reduction-Act-Guidebook.pdf.

Department of Energy
Through the Better Climate Challenge, organizations can partner with DOE to reduce portfolio-wide GHG emissions (scope 1 & 2) by at least 50% within 10 years. Learn more at https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/climate-challenge.

Department of Labor
Provides grants to enable partners in the public and private sectors to develop or scale workforce training programs to prepare job seekers in advanced manufacturing; information technology; and professional, scientific, and technical service occupations that support renewable energy, transportation, and broadband infrastructure sectors. Nonprofits, labor organizations, public and state institutions of higher education, economic and workforce entities, and state, county and local governments may apply for grants ranging from $500,000 to $5 million. Applications are due on July 7, 2023. Learn more at: [+https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20230405+].

Environmental Protection Agency
Contributes to a better understanding of the degree to which four socially vulnerable populations—defined based on income, educational attainment, race and ethnicity, and age—may be more exposed to the highest impacts of climate change in six categories: Air Quality and Health; Extreme Temperature and Health; Extreme Temperature and Labor; Coastal Flooding and Traffic; Coastal Flooding and Property; and Inland Flooding and Property. Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-09/climate-vulnerability_september-2021_508.pdf.

U.S. Global Change Research Program
Considers the extent to which modifying current, or implementing new, health system responses could prepare for and manage climate change risks. Learn more at https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/14/.

National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the U.S. Health Sector
The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity co-chairs the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Action Collaborative. Institutions can become Network Organizations to join a community of learning seeking to address the challenges of climate change and protect human health, well-being, and equity. Learn more at https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6696178/NAM-Climate-Network-Organizations.

Department of Energy
A coalition of community solar stakeholders working to expand access to community solar. Open to any individual or organization with an interest in supporting equitable community solar development in the U.S. Learn more at https://www.energy.gov/communitysolar/community-solar.

Office of Climate Change and Health Equity
So far, over 100 organizations joined the White House/HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge, demonstrating their commitment to lowering greenhouse gas emissions and building more climate resilient infrastructure. Learn more at: https://www.hhs.gov/climate-change-health-equity-environmental-justice/climate-change-health-equity/actions/health-sector-pledge/index.html.

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
Provides an overview of climate trends in the U.S., outlining the impacts of climate-related illness and injury on health system operations, care delivery, and patient surge. Learn more at https://files.asprtracie.hhs.gov/documents/aspr-tracie-climate-change-resilience-and-healthcare-system-considerations-508.pdf.

Department of Energy
By presenting general project planning guidance as well as detailed descriptions and financial payback metrics for the most important and relevant energy efficiency measures (EEMs), the guides provide a practical roadmap for effectively planning and implementing performance improvements in existing buildings. Learn more at https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy13osti/57864.pdf.

America's Essential Hospitals
Even small investments by hospitals in climate resiliency and climate change mitigation can yield meaningful results and, as a proof of concept, pave the way for a greater commitment to climate-related work, Essential Hospitals Institute concludes in this report. Learn more at https://essentialhospitals.org/general/report-modest-investments-hospitals-can-go-far-combat-climate-change/.

Department of Energy
Offers resources on prioritizing energy efficiency, setting goals and tracking, leveraging renewables, utilizing emerging technologies, engaging stakeholders, and financing.  Learn more at https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/carbon-hub.

Environmental Protection Agency
The calculator helps quantify the value of improvements in energy efficiency, using the prevailing price/earnings ratio to estimate the market value of increased earnings that can result from increased energy efficiency. Learn more at https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/tools-and-resources/financial-value-calculator.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Benefit-Cost Analysis is a method that determines the future risk reduction benefits of a hazard mitigation project and compares those benefits to its costs. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/grants/guidance-tools/benefit-cost-analysis.

Department of Energy
Helps small and medium manufacturers save energy, improve productivity, and reduce emissions by providing no-cost technical assessments conducted by university-based teams of engineering students and faculty. Learn more at https://www.energy.gov/mesc/industrial-research-and-assessment-centers.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Lists actions that can aid the health care sector on the journey to net zero emissions by 2050. Learn more at https://climatechampions.unfccc.int/resilient-healthcare-building-a-sector-fit-for-the-future/.

Health Care Without Harm
Report focused on the financial impacts of extreme weather. Learn more at https://noharm-uscanada.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/5146/Safe_haven.pdf.

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
The resources in this Topic Collection highlight planning considerations, educational and planning resources, and lessons learned from a variety of natural and human-caused disasters and provide guidance for healthcare practitioners who are committed to addressing climate change and the impacts on healthcare systems. Learn more at https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/technical-resources/158/climate-change-and-healthcare-system-considerations/0.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Offers guidance on high-priority measures and strategies for healthcare organizations to reduce their carbon footprint. Learn more at https://www.ahrq.gov/healthsystemsresearch/decarbonization/index.html.

Environmental Protection Agency
Provides organizations the resources and tools to measure, track, and improve the energy efficiency of their commercial buildings and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their operation.  Learn more at https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/about_us/partnering/become_energy_star_partner.

Environmental Protection Agency and Office of Climate Change and Health Equity
Created to assist White House-HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge signatories and other interested health organizations in using the U.S. EPA’s free benchmarking tool ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® to track their building-related energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While HHS encourages all health sector organizations, including those who have joined the pledge, to track and share their progress, organizations are not obligated to submit their data to the federal government in association with the pledge initiative. Learn more at: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/epa-portfolio-manager-for-health-sector.pdf.

Environmental Protection Agency
CHP can provide a hospital’s entire energy supply year-round, even during grid outages caused by weather-related disruptions or other events. Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/chp/chp-hospitals-superior-energy-superior-patient-care.

Environmental Protection Agency
Provides organizations with strategies and approaches to purchasing green renewable power that meets nationally accepted standards, along with recognition and resources to help communicate the environmental benefits. Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets.

Department of Energy
An online tool that helps public and private sector organizations find financing solutions for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Learn more at https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/financing-navigator/primer/healthcare-energy-financing-primer.

Environmental Protection Agency
Provides funding to offset the costs of replacing heavy-duty Class 6 and 7 commercial vehicles with zero-emission vehicles; deploying infrastructure needed to charge, fuel, or maintain these zero-emission vehicles; and developing and training the necessary workforce. Learn more at: https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/clean-heavy-duty-vehicle-program.

Environmental Protection Agency
Provides grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/climate-pollution-reduction-grants.

Department of the Treasury
Actively works to increase the availability of capital and credit by investing federal resources—which are matched with private funding—in Community Development Financial Institutions working to serve low-income and underserved people and communities. Learn more at https://www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/programs/cdfi-program.

Department of Treasury
A tax credit for purchasers of qualified commercial clean vehicles available for vehicles placed in service in 2023 and acquired before 2033. Learn more at https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2023-08.pdf.

Environmental Protection Agency
An online database that allows users to search for CHP policies and incentives by state or at the federal level. Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/chp/database-chp-policies-and-incentives-dchpp.

Department of Treasury
The Inflation Reduction Act introduced and expanded tax credits for clean energy technologies, providing unprecedented policy certainty and opportunity for entities that manufacture, install, and produce clean energy over the next decade. In addition to providing incentives to spur private-sector investment, the Inflation Reduction Act includes game-changing new provisions that will enable tax-exempt and governmental entities—such as states, local governments, Tribes, territories, and nonprofits—to take an active role in building the clean energy economy, lowering costs for working families, and advancing environmental justice. Learn more at https://www.whitehouse.gov/cleanenergy/directpay/?utm_source=www.cleanenergy.gov.

Department of Treasury
Provides for increased credit amounts if certain requirements pertaining to energy communities are satisfied. The increased credit amount available is generally 10% for the production tax credit and up to 10 percentage points for the investment tax credit. Learn more at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-issues-guidance-on-eligibility-requirement-for-energy-communities-for-the-bonus-credit-program-under-the-inflation-reduction-act.

Department of Energy 
The ESPC Campaign provides technical assistance resources, including training and peer exchange opportunities, to support public sector organizations in implementing ESPC projects and programs to increase efficiency and resilience, reduce emissions, and realize cost savings. Learn more at https://www.energy.gov/scep/espc-campaign/home

Environmental Protection Agency
Provides competitive grants to mobilize financing and leverage private capital for clean energy and climate projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with an emphasis on projects that benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities. Learn more at: https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund.

Department of Treasury 
Provides a boost of 10 or 20-percentage points to the investment tax credit for solar and wind energy projects in low-income communities or on Indian land, are part of affordable housing developments, or benefit low-income households. This is an allocated credit; the Program will allocate up to 1.8 gigawatts of capacity available in 2023 for solar and wind projects with maximum output of less than five megawatts. Learn more at https://www.energy.gov/diversity/low-income-communities-bonus-credit-program. Procedural guidance for the 2024 program year is available here.

Department of the Treasury
Aims to break the cycle of disinvestment in low-income communities by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies. Learn more at www.cdfifund.gov/nmtc.

Department of the Treasury
Organizations can search for Community Development Entities that may have available NMTC allocation authority remaining. Learn more at https://www.cdfifund.gov/awards/nmtc.

Department of Agriculture
Offers loan guarantees to lenders for their loans to rural businesses. For-profit or non-profit businesses can qualify for these loans. Learn more at https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/business-industry-loan-guarantees.

Department of Agriculture
Offers direct loans, loan guarantees and grants to develop or improve essential public services and facilities in communities across rural America. Learn more at https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-facilities.

Department of Agriculture
Offer funding to complete energy audits, provide renewable energy development assistance, make energy efficiency improvements and install renewable energy systems. Learn more at https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/energy-programs.

Department of Agriculture
Provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Learn more at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/31/2023-06376/notice-of-solicitation-of-applications-for-the-rural-energy-for-america-program-for-fiscal-years.

Department of Agriculture
Provides loans to rural utilities and other companies who provide energy efficiency loans to qualified consumers to implement durable cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Learn more at https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/electric-programs/rural-energy-savings-program.

Department of Energy
Is authorized to fund and implement a variety of programmatic activities that assist American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages with energy development, capacity building, energy cost reduction, and electrification of Indian lands and homes. Learn more at https://www.energy.gov/indianenergy/office-indian-energy-policy-and-programs.

Department of Housing and Urban Development
Policy encouraging owners to adopt higher standards for construction, rehabilitation, repairs, maintenance, and property operations that are more energy efficient and sustainable than traditional approaches to such activities. Learn more at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/19/2022-10539/changes-in-certain-office-of-healthcare-programs-insurance-premiums.

Health Resources & Services Administration
Supports loans to eligible Health Center Program awardees for the construction, expansion, alteration, renovation or modernization of health center medical facilities. Learn more at https://bphc.hrsa.gov/initiatives/health-center-loan-guarantee-program.

Department of Housing and Urban Development
Administers Federal Housing Administration’s healthcare programs, the Section 232 Mortgage Insurance for Residential Care Facilities program and the Section 242 Mortgage Insurance for Hospitals program. Learn more at https://www.hud.gov/healthcare/.

Health Resources & Services Administration
HRSA funds a variety of grantees and providers through its Bureaus and Offices. Learn more at https://www.hrsa.gov/library/financing.

Department of Treasury
A tax credit for projects including re-equipping an industrial or manufacturing facility with equipment designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent. This is an allocated credit, meaning a limited amount of funding will be dispensed to successful applicants. Learn more at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-23-18.pdf.

Environmental Protection Agency
Supports the development and standardization of environmental product declarations, including measurements of the embodied greenhouse gas emissions of construction materials and products. A Request for Information is available at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-01/10439-01_RequestForInformation%20%281%29.pdf.

Environmental Protection Agency
Funding to purchase and install zero-emission port equipment and technology, conduct associated planning or permitting activities for this equipment and technology, and develop climate action plans to further address air pollution at ports. Learn more at: https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/clean-ports-program.

Environmental Protection Agency
Funding for work associated with identifying and labelling construction materials and products that have substantially lower levels of embodied greenhouse gas emissions. A Request for Information is available at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-01/10439-01_RequestForInformation%20%281%29.pdf.

Small Business Administration
Grants are competitively awarded for the development and commercialization of new ideas and innovative research. Learn more at https://www.sbir.gov/.

Department of Agriculture
Assists users in identifying sustainable biobased products that qualify for mandatory federal purchasing, are certified through the voluntary labeling initiative, or both (includes medical supplies, cleaning products, and other products relevant for health sector purchasers). Learn more at https://www.biopreferred.gov/BioPreferred/faces/catalog/Catalog.xhtml.

Environmental Protection Agency
Includes a description of Scope 3 emissions, Scope 3 resources, and Scope 3 emission factors. Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-3-inventory-guidance.

Health Care Without Harm
Sample procurement policies and guidance statements after which your facility can model its own. Learn more at https://practicegreenhealth.org/topics/sustainable-procurement/sustainable-procurement.

General Services Administration
Prepares readers to take action to create efficient, healthy buildings and implement environmentally-responsible purchasing. Learn more at https://sftool.gov/.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
Offers basic guidance and tools to help building owners and occupants learn about building codes and the process of making a building stronger against natural hazards. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_building-codes-toolkit_07-19-2021.pdf.

Office of Climate Change and Health Equity
Explores how our health may be affected in the coming months by climate events and provides resources to take proactive action. Learn more at https://www.hhs.gov/climate-change-health-equity-environmental-justice/climate-change-health-equity/climate-health-outlook/index.html.

Office of Climate Change and Health Equity
OCCHE developed this resource to explain the essential elements of climate resilience plans for healthcare facilities. It is intended to provide general guidance for healthcare leaders and other stakeholders engaged in healthcare climate resilience planning.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Report assessing how climate change impacts worker health and how to prepare for these impacts. Learn more at https://tools.niehs.nih.gov/wetp/public/hasl_get_blob.cfm?ID=13562.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Supports coastal resilience, coastal communities, and conservation, restoration, and protection of coastal and marine habitat and resources. Learn more at: https://www.noaa.gov/news-releases/noaa-ira-framework-2023.

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
An interactive tool that can help hospital emergency planners and supply chain staff estimate supplies that may need to be immediately available during various mass casualty incidents and infectious disease emergencies based on hospital characteristics. Learn more at https://dashtool.org/.

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
The HPH Sector Critical Infrastructure Protection Partnership is a network of public and private partners that promote situational awareness, coordination, and preparedness and response capabilities that establish a shared context and understanding of critical infrastructure risks, needs, and opportunities for innovation in healthcare and the public health system. Learn more at https://aspr.hhs.gov/AboutASPR/ProgramOffices/ICC/Pages/HPH/HPH.aspx.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
A “one-stop–shop" for any jurisdiction or organization looking to conduct a climate-focused exercise. Learn more here: https://www.fema.gov/node/long-term-community-resilience-exercise-resource-guide.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
An online mapping application from FEMA that identifies communities most at risk to 18 natural hazards. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/products-tools/national-risk-index.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
A free GIS web map that allows federal, state, local, tribal and territorial emergency managers and other community leaders to examine the interplay of census data, infrastructure locations, and hazards, including real-time weather forecasts, historic disasters and estimated annualized frequency of hazard risk. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/resilience-analysis-and-planning-tool.

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
The RISC Toolkit provides public health and healthcare organizations with tools to identify threats and hazards; accesses vulnerabilities; and determine the criticality and consequences of these vulnerabilities. Learn more at https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/RISC-Toolkit-2.0/Pages/default.aspx.

United States Global Change Research Program
The Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Health Care Facilities Toolkit found on these pages provides an overview guide and a suite of online tools and resources highlighting emerging best practices for developing sustainable and climate-resilient health care facilities. Learn more at https://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/human-health/building-climate-resilience-health-sector.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
Supports states, local communities, tribes and territories as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/building-resilient-infrastructure-communities.

Environmental Protection Agency

Provides grants and technical assistance to community-based organizations (CBOs) to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to respond to environmental and climate justice challenges. Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/inflation-reduction-act-community-change-grants-program#NOFO

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
Provides funds to assist communities responding to and recovering from major disasters or emergencies declared by the President. Eligible applicants include states, federally recognized tribal governments (including Alaska Native villages and organizations so long as they are not privately owned), U.S. territories, local governments, and certain private non-profit (PNP) organizations. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_public-assistance-fact-sheet_10-2019.pdf.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
Provides an overview of who can apply, examples of programs in action, and helpful tools for learning more. Learn more here: https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_resources-climate-resilience.pdf.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
The IRA authorizes the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Recovery and Emergency Act to provide financial assistance for costs associated with low-carbon building or construction materials and incentives that encourage low-carbon and net-zero energy projects. The following programs are eligible to fund low-carbon materials through the IRA: Public Assistance, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities. Learn more at: https://www.fema.gov/grants/policy-guidance/low-carbon-goals.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
Provides funding to state, local, tribal and territorial governments so they can develop hazard mitigation plans and rebuild in a way that reduces, or mitigates, future disaster losses in their communities. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation.

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
Provides leadership and funding through cooperative agreements to states, territories, and eligible major metropolitan areas to increase the ability of HPP funding recipients to plan for and respond to large-scale emergencies and disasters. Learn more at https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/hpp/Pages/default.aspx.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
Makes federal funds available to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to plan for and implement sustainable cost-effective measures designed to reduce the risk to individuals and property from future natural hazards, while also reducing reliance on federal funding from future disasters. Health sector organizations like the Mount Sinai Medical Center have benefited from the program. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/pre-disaster.

National Indian Health Board and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The National Indian Health Board aims to build the capacity of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes to identify, assess, and take action to mitigate climate-related health threats. Climate Ready Tribes is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Learn more at https://www.nihb.org/public_health/climate_ready_tribes.php.

Bureau of Indian Affairs
Supports climate resilience planning to help sustain Tribal ecosystems and natural and cultural resources, economies, infrastructure, human health, and safety. The 2023 application deadline has not yet been posted but some application information is available. Learn more at https://www.bia.gov/service/tcr-annual-awards-program.

Department of the Interior
Provides grants for climate change planning, mitigation, adaptation, and resilience to American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Health stakeholders may be able to receive assistance through these projects from the awardees. Learn more at https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-awards-12-million-through-investing-america-agenda-combat.

Department of the Interior
Funding priorities include, but are not limited to, projects that foster the development of insular area communities in disaster assistance, public safety/emergencies, and health initiatives and health IT systems. Learn more at https://www.doi.gov/oia/financial-assistance.

Department of Energy
Advances self-reliant island and remote communities through the development of resilient energy systems. Learn more at https://www.energy.gov/eere/energy-transitions-initiative.