Energy

We are Focusing our Energy on Patient Care

General Inquiries:

Phone Numbers:

  • Speaker Inquiries: 216.448.8729
  • Media Inquiries: 216.444.0141
  • Vendor Inquiries: 216.448.8000

Cleveland Clinic works to create better buildings.

Our program is comprehensive and is designed to enhance patient experience and outcomes and also reduce operating expense. Further, we view our energy program as a direct contributor to a healthier community. Northeast Ohio is often in non-attainment of air quality standards, and our region’s heavy reliance on coal for electricity is a major contributor. We can impact the health of our community by reducing the need to build new plants or to retain older, less efficient plants. As a leader in healthcare, we consider it our responsibility to also lead in this area.

Electricity consumption constituted nearly 80% of our 2008 carbon emissions, so our energy management efforts directly address our contribution to climate change. "Cleveland Clinic's robust energy management program is a national model, demonstrating how to fight climate change through energy efficiency," said Elizabeth Craig, Acting Director of EPA's Office of Atmospheric Programs. "Effective energy management not only helps the bottom line, but it also is our most cost-effective climate strategy." To further reduce our impact and create local jobs, we installed our first solar panel array in 2010, and are co-founders of the first local community-based carbon action fund, The Cleveland Carbon Fund.

Cleveland Clinic’s commitment to continuous improvement in energy management was furthered by our commitment as a Partner to the US Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, setting a goal to further reduce our energy intensity by 20% by 2020.

Cleveland Clinic named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for Third Year in a Row

As the result of enhanced management practices, organization-wide improvements, and promoting and communicating successes, our award-winning energy management program has earned Cleveland Clinic the honor of ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year in 2013. This year’s achievement is accompanied with ENERGY STAR’s highest honor for Sustained Excellence. This recognition displays our ongoing commitment to focus our energy on patient care. To learn more about this recent honor, visit our News page.

Conservation: Cleveland Clinic has been a proud ENERGY STAR Partner since 2008. Buildings can be rated by ENERGY STAR, much like appliances, and seven of our buildings have earned ENERGY STAR awards from the US EPA, acknowledging buildings that operate in the top 25 percent of comparable buildings nationwide in terms of energy performance. We educate employees on energy-saving opportunities and have entered into a contract for our first solar installation in 2010 through a new employee-owned power purchase agreement.


Cleveland Clinic has been a proud ENERGY STAR Partner since 2008. Buildings can be rated by ENERGY STAR, much like appliances, and seven of our buildings have earned ENERGY STAR awards from the US EPA, acknowledging buildings that operate in the top 25 percent of comparable buildings nationwide in terms of energy performance. We educate employees on energy-saving opportunities and have entered into a contract for our first solar installation in 2010 through a new employee-owned power purchase agreement.

Renewable Energy

Northeast Ohio has come together to make a commitment toward a sustainable future and build an economic engine to empower a green city on a blue lake. By 2019, the 50th anniversary of the famous burning river in 1969, we hope to realize this powerful vision and be part of a vibrant, healthy, successful community. Each year, Sustainable Cleveland 2019 (SC2019) has a designated focus to help our citizens and business rally around focused progress. 2013 is the Year of Advanced and Renewable Energy, and our region’s businesses and communities are committed to realizing the potential that this sector offers for innovation, economic growth and a cleaner future.  We invite you to learn more about SC2019 and engage in our collective effort to help our region fulfill its vision of a green city on a blue lake.

Collaboration: Energy technology is a dynamic and changing field, making collaboration a critical part of leadership. In addition to collaborating locally through Sustainable Cleveland 2019, the Northern Ohio Society for Healthcare Engineering, and the Corporate Sustainability Network, we are working at the national level as well.  We are a Partner in the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program, a Partner in the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Initiative, as well as a leader in the deployment of LED lighting and advanced energy management in clinical settings.  We proactively participate in governmental and industry collaborations centered on learning and best practice sharing toward the advancement of new technologies, purchasing standards and education and awareness.

Clean Energy: Our first solar array was installed in 2010 at the Main Campus. The 100kw array has 480 panels and provides an average of 9% of the building's energy needs. While we celebrate our first solar installation, we are most proud of our role in helping the employee-owned business, Ohio Cooperative Solar, get off the ground. Part of the Evergreen Cooperative network, OCS has already created 17 jobs in struggling neighborhoods and turned a profit in its first year of operation. We are looking forward to future installations.

Infrastructure: Cleveland Clinic became an ENERGY STAR Partner on March 12, 2008. As part of this formal commitment, we appointed an Energy Director with specific duties that mirror those recommended by Energy Star's Guidelines for Energy Management Overview.
Continuing to follow those same guidelines, our Energy Committee was created in 2009 and is made up of leaders from across the organization, geographically and organizationally. The Energy Committee controls an annual capital budget for the improvement of energy performance, which can be used not only to improve energy performance but to incentivize personal action and positive behavioral change. This investment has helped generate significant momentum for and employee ownership of the Clinic's energy policies.

Take Action: All of us consume energy. Conserving at home and at work makes dollars and sense. Consider making a personal commitment to conserving at home and taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge or encouraging your company to become an ENERGY STAR Partner. The energy we consume is also a large part of a household's climate change impact. Here at Cleveland Clinic, nearly 80% of our carbon emissions (Scope 1 and 2) are attributed to electricity consumption. Consider visiting The Cleveland Carbon Fund to calculate your personal carbon impact and to learn about ways to reduce your footprint. Even the smallest changes like installing an energy efficient light bulb can have a big impact!

Energy technology is a dynamic and changing field, making collaboration a critical part of leadership. In addition to collaborating locally through Sustainable Cleveland 2019, the Northern Ohio Society for Healthcare Engineering, and the Corporate Sustainability Network, we are working at the national level as well.  We are a Partner in the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program, a Partner in the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Initiative, as well as a leader in the deployment of LED lighting and advanced energy management in clinical settings.  We proactively participate in governmental and industry collaborations centered on learning and best practice sharing toward the advancement of new technologies, purchasing standards and education and awareness.

Our first solar array was installed in 2010 at the Main Campus. The 100kw array has 480 panels and provides an average of 9% of the building's energy needs. While we celebrate our first solar installation, we are most proud of our role in helping the employee-owned business, Ohio Cooperative Solar, get off the ground. Part of the Evergreen Cooperative network, OCS has already created 17 jobs in struggling neighborhoods and turned a profit in its first year of operation. We are looking forward to future installations.

Cleveland Clinic became an ENERGY STAR Partner on March 12, 2008. As part of this formal commitment, we appointed an Energy Director with specific duties that mirror those recommended by Energy Star's Guidelines for Energy Management Overview.

Continuing to follow those same guidelines, our Energy Committee was created in 2009 and is made up of leaders from across the organization, geographically and organizationally. The Energy Committee controls an annual capital budget for the improvement of energy performance, which can be used not only to improve energy performance but to incentivize personal action and positive behavioral change. This investment has helped generate significant momentum for and employee ownership of the Clinic's energy policies.

All of us consume energy. Conserving at home and at work makes dollars and sense. Consider making a personal commitment to conserving at home and taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge or encouraging your company to become an ENERGY STAR Partner. The energy we consume is also a large part of a household's climate change impact. Here at Cleveland Clinic, nearly 80% of our carbon emissions (Scope 1 and 2) are attributed to electricity consumption. Consider visiting The Cleveland Carbon Fund to calculate your personal carbon impact and to learn about ways to reduce your footprint. Even the smallest changes like installing an energy efficient light bulb can have a big impact!