Vail Health, a rural healthcare system with a mission to “elevate health across our mountain communities,” has built a sustainability program shaped by a distinct set of challenges: long transportation distances, limited facility and land space, geographic isolation that complicates supply chains, mountain terrain and cold-weather conditions that affect electrification initiatives. These constraints often make interventions that are straightforward for larger, urban health systems difficult to implement in rural settings. Despite these barriers, our sustainability program has achieved 421.34 tons diverted from landfill and a diversion rate of 28.6%. We've advanced this progress through a dual approach: grassroots, employee-driven engagement strategy paired with data-driven business cases that secured executive and C-suite support, establishing sustainability as a strategic organizational priority.

This session will share our successes, setbacks, and lessons learned in building a sustainability program in a resource-constrained, rural environment. We'll discuss how we've navigated logistical and supply chain barriers, adapted to electrification and recycling initiatives to fit our geography, and engaged both frontline staff and leadership in advancing measurable progress.

Attendees will leave with strategies for gaining organizational buy-in, engaging employees and leadership around sustainability, and adapting initiatives to resource-limited settings. These insights are applicable regardless of organizational size, geography, or program maturity. This session offers healthcare sustainability professionals a candid, real-world look at building resilient programs when conditions aren't ideal, and practical tools for turning constraints into opportunities for innovation.