Earth Day and sustainability at Mayo

With Earth Day (April 22) fast approaching, you may be wondering about Mayo Clinic’s environmental sustainability commitments. As you’ve learned in new employee orientation, stewardship is one of Mayo Clinic’s core values. Mayo Clinic has a rich history of sustainability going all the way back to the early days in 1916 when Dr. Charles Mayo established a formal garbage collection service and hog farm for the disposal of waste for the residents of Rochester, Minnesota.

Fast forward to today where we have concerted efforts to conserve energy, reduce and recycle waste, and design, construct and operate buildings sustainably. Mayo Clinic’s environmental statement is available on the Green at Mayo Clinic intranet webpage.

Tip: You must access these resources from a Mayo Clinic computer or with a VPN connection.

Here are impactful actions you can take to support environmental stewardship at Mayo Clinic:

1. Turn off lights if you’re the last person to leave a room.
2. Log off of your computer at the end of the day, and turn off monitors, printers and noncritical equipment.
3. Recycle everything you can at your site. The more Mayo Clinic staff recycles, the smaller the waste stream.
4. Reduce paper waste by printing only essential documents from your computer. If you must reproduce multiple copies of a document, use a copier and print on both sides of the page.
5. If you have fume hoods in your area, shut the doors and adjust the damper to the appropriate level.
6. If you drive your car to work solo, try carpooling instead. Or, ditch the car all together and ride the bus, bike or walk to work.

It may sound cliché, but the actions of all employees help make every day Earth Day at Mayo Clinic.