Healthcare organizations operate in complex, rapidly changing environments where long-term sustainability depends on coordinated strategic direction across services, professions, and systems. National and organizational efforts increasingly recognize that resilient, low-carbon, and equitable health systems require planning that extends beyond individual initiatives to encompass governance, workforce development, monitoring, and financing. Strategic planning provides the structure to align these elements while responding to climate-related risks, supply chain pressures, and evolving population health needs.
Effective approaches draw on system-wide tools such as environmental scanning, organizational assessments, and integrated sustainability strategies that define clear priorities, goals, and timelines. Establishing multidisciplinary sustainability teams, engaging senior leadership, and embedding sustainability within existing structures such as quality improvement, operations, procurement, and finance enables coordinated implementation. Strengthening internal capacity through education, training, and knowledge sharing supports staff engagement and builds shared accountability for change. Measurement frameworks and reporting systems further enable tracking of progress, ensuring that environmental, clinical, and operational outcomes are visible and actionable.
Strategic change is reinforced through enabling conditions such as leadership commitment, staff engagement, iterative improvement, and cross-sector partnerships. CASCADES resources support organizations in translating these principles into practice by providing tools, frameworks, and guidance to design, implement, and evaluate sustainability strategies. Together, these supports help health systems move from intent to action in building resilient, high-quality, and sustainable care.
Playbook: Strategic Planning for Planetary Health and Sustainable Care
Cruz, A, Simms, N, Ritcey, G, MacNeill, A, Miller, F. Sustainability Embedded Quality Improvement (SE-QI) Playbook. Version 1.0. [Internet]. CASCADES; 2026 [cited DATE]. Available from: https://cascadescanada.ca/.
Playbook: Organizational Readiness for Sustainability
This webinar in the Leadership and strategy for sustainable health systems series is the third of seven events highlighting seven organizational practices to advance strategic planning for sustainable healthcare. These practices are presented in the upcoming CASCADES playbook Strategic Planning for Sustainable Healthcare. The series is organized in partnership with the with the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business/Centre for Climate and Business Solutions, the Sandra Rotman Centre for Health Sector Strategy at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management, Dalhousie University Faculty of Management, and other university partners
This webinar in the Leadership and strategy for sustainable health systems series is the sixth of seven events highlighting seven organizational practices to advance strategic planning for sustainable healthcare. These practices are presented in the upcoming CASCADES playbook Strategic Planning for Sustainable Healthcare. The series is organized in partnership with the with the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business/Centre for Climate and Business Solutions, the Sandra Rotman Centre for Health Sector Strategy at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management, Dalhousie University Faculty of Management, and other university partners
This webinar explores how healthcare organizations in Canada and internationally are increasingly estimating their full scope of greenhouse gas emissions, both direct and indirect. It examines what organizations can gain from these efforts while also considering the limitations of using emissions estimation as a tool to drive health system change.
This webinar presents the Atleo Centre for Compassionate Leadership’s “Ya’akstulth: Leading with Compassion in a Tumultuous Era,” which explores leadership rooted in relationality, compassion, and cultural integration. It introduces a philosophy that emphasizes “adding no more harm,” building connection before content, and fostering self-connection and resilience. The session reflects on how compassionate leadership can support collaboration, trust, and innovation in complex health and social systems. It features Heather Atleo and Shawn Atleo, who share their experiences and approach to leadership grounded in Indigenous and Western teachings, relational practice, and transformative system change.
This webinar explores how sustainability and quality of care are closely linked within health systems, and how Quality Improvement (QI) can support the transition toward environmentally responsible healthcare. It discusses frameworks and principles for QI and how sustainability can be embedded into improvement efforts at both organizational and provincial levels to reduce environmental impacts while maintaining or improving care quality.
This webinar features Jeffrey Tochkin sharing his experiences navigating the health impacts of climate emergencies and outlining the cycle of preparedness, response, and recovery. It explores lessons learned through a leadership lens and discusses strategies to strengthen health system resilience, emphasizing the role of health organizations in supporting broader societal resilience during increasingly complex climate-related emergencies.
