Environmental Practices

Safeguarding Global Health
& The Environment

As a leader in healthcare education, Adtalem recognizes that the well-being of people, animals, and the environment is closely tied to the way we care for our planet. We are nurturing change in communities where our students go on to practice and working to ease the effects climate change can have on public health across the globe.

Download the 2024 Sustainability Report

Embracing a Multidisciplinary Approach to Health and Well-being

Graph showing One Health diagram how people, animal and environmental health overlap.


Interdisciplinary Approach: Supporting Health for All

One Health

Understanding the interrelations between human, animal and environmental health is essential to addressing a range of complex global health issues, including disaster resilience and mitigation, infectious diseases and food security. This framework, known as One Health, offers a multifaceted approach to delivering impact and innovation that Adtalem is uniquely positioned to address.

Learn more about Health in Harmony at Adtalem.

One Health & Zoonotic Diseases

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) hosts the One Health Center for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, an internationally recognized center where students and faculty collaborate to conduct research on the cross-section of human and animal health. Combining these efforts with our curriculum, we are at the forefront of veterinary research on three key One Health topics: Zoonotic, tropical and vector-borne diseases; antimicrobial and anthelmintic resistance; and health management of priority livestock, including food and feed safety. This has far-reaching implications for public health, as over 60% of known infectious diseases in people – and 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases – are spread from animals. Zoonotic diseases cause over 2.5 billion cases of human illness and 2.7 million deaths annually worldwide.

LEARN MORE

Veterinarian in white lab coat with donkey
Group of medical professionals and students standing near a dog on a scale

RUSVM One Health Partnerships

RUSVM has partnered with the government of St. Kitts and Nevis to help transform the country into a Sustainable Island State. This collaboration encourages the creation of healthier living environments through collaboration between RUSVM and the St. Kitts and Nevis Ministries of Health and Agriculture, both aligned with the One Health initiative.

 

Two medical professionals in lab coats and one checking patient blood pressure

Chamberlain Community Health

The Chamberlain University Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program prepares students through coursework focused on public and community health concepts, healthcare policy, health disparities and the needs of underrepresented populations. It also incorporates a required underserved clinical clerkship to ensure all graduates have experience in providing clinical care to underserved communities.
 

Two Ross Med students in blue scrubs and one in yellow t-shirt in front of building

RUSM Community Medicine

Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) offers a Community Medicine program, which introduces students to current trends in healthcare and public health challenges in the U.S., including issues of health disparities, increasing maternal mortality rates, the impact of climate change and the social determinants of health. During fiscal year 2024, the program served more than 5,600 people from the local community.

Public Health Initiatives

Throughout the year, Adtalem institutions participate in numerous public health initiatives, providing healthcare services to our communities and vital learning experiences for our students. Through these events, students gain real-world experience in learning health assessment skills and communicating with patients from varying backgrounds. A few examples of the work we did in fiscal year 2024 include the following:

American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine
woman outline nurse

Project H.E.L.P. screenings in the Cole Bay community of Sint Maarten provided in Haitian Creole for individuals with limited English proficiency to promote expanding healthcare access.

outline of lungs

Health education workshops designed to build health literacy-related heart health, lung health, physical activity, skin protection and more for children and senior citizens.

heart outline with heartbeat line

Blood pressure screenings through AUC’s Cardiothoracic Surgery and Cardiology Interest Groups, followed by counseling and referral as needed.

outline of tooth with health plus over it

Dental screenings, led by Neha Dayalani, MD ʼ17, graduate and faculty member of AUC, enabling students to practice communicating with children about dental health.

Ross University School of Medicine
outline of a child with a health plus on chest

The Ellen Steinbok Hearing Screening Project, in which over 3,500 primary school students were screened at 69 schools across Barbados.

clipboard checklist icon

A series of screenings of nearly 5,000 Barbadians conducted in partnership with the Rotary Club of Barbados, as well as other local organizations, throughout fiscal year 2024.

outline of earth

World Health Day screenings at the National Stadium in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Ministry of Health and other organizations.

outline of a heart with blood pressure monitor

Blood pressure, glucose and body mass index (BMI) screenings at a health fair conducted by RUSM students.

Heart outline with a globe over one side

World Heart Day screenings in partnership with the Barbados Association of Retired Persons. 

Maternal Health Among Black Women

Adtalem is dedicated to nurturing change throughout healthcare, and one of our focus areas is maternal health, particularly for underserved populations. In fiscal year 2024, we created the series Equity, Delivered, which explored the pressing issues facing mothers in America including disparities in access to care, racial inequity, maternal mortality rates, mental health concerns and the impact of socioeconomic factors on pregnancy outcomes.

The mortality rate for new Black mothers is nearly three times that of new white mothers. These outcomes are often attributed only to factors such as poverty, barriers to access and lifestyle; however, these factors do not accurately represent the source of this outcome disparity, nor do they point to a solution for this underserved population.

Learn More

Doctor taking blood presser of woman patient in exam room.

Environmental Stewardship

We strive to act as effective stewards of the planet, doing our part to understand and reduce our organizational footprint while educating our students about the public health implications of climate change and environmental degradation.

Aniello Alberti Doctor of Education Student Walden University, Adtalem

Climate Awareness & Resilience

Walden alumnus Aniello Alberti, EdD ʼ24, presented his capstone research, The Concept of Leadership During a Climatological Crisis, in 2024. His research offers several insights for institutions, including the need to prioritize the security, safety and support of communities as primary drivers of action. Crisis leadership plans should also emphasize the “tenacity, tactics and grit” required to influence action across various organizational challenges.

Palm tree blowing in hurricane winds

Disaster Preparedness at Adtalem Institutions

We take our responsibility to prepare for climate-related disasters and ensure the safety of faculty and students seriously, especially in our storm- and flood-vulnerable locations on the Gulf Coast and in the Caribbean. Our Enterprise Safety and Security department tracks, identifies and leads efforts that protect against climate-related safety and security risks, such as hurricanes and other extreme weather events. For additional information on this team and their work, please see our Governance page.

Environmental Sustainability & Impact Summary

rooftop of solar panels landscape

Adtalem Environmental Sustainability Progress

As of fiscal year 2024, we have achieved a total GHG emissions reduction of 40.4% compared to baseline.

Solar Power at AUC

The 184 solar panels installed on AUC’s rooftops, as highlighted in our 2023 report, are expected to produce 125,421 kWh of energy annually for daily operations.

Waste and Natural Resources

We are working to reduce the amount of waste we send to the landfill through a range of circular waste management practices. These include recycling and reusing items when possible, as well as maintaining strong environmental partnerships that enable us to problem-solve and increase efficiency. Throughout fiscal year 2024, we continued our partnership with HOBI International, Inc., a women-owned business that helped us successfully recycle 564 items, including computers, monitors and mixed electronic materials and equipment.

Saving enough electricity to power 436 U.S. households
Reducing GHG emissions equal to removing 188 passenger cars from the road.
14,936 lbs. of material reused or recycled across our locations.

Environmental Impact Summary

All resulting in a 40.4% reduction in combined Scope 1 & 2 emissions from the FY19 baseline.

Made with Flourish

metric tons of CO2 equivalent (mtCO2e)

Year-over-Year Comparison1

ENERGY USAGE FOR DIRECT PAID UTILITIES
(kBtu)

FY 2023 = 47,969,941.

FY 2023 = ↓41,856,504

NONRECYCLED WASTE2
(Tons)

FY 2023 = 452

FY 2023 = ↓403

WATER USAGE FOR DIRECT PAID UTILITIES3
(kGal)

FY 2023 = 15,865

FY 2023 = ↓15,641

Enhanced Metrics for New Baselines (starting with FY24)4

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOR DIRECT PAID + LEASED LANDLORD UTILITIES (mtCO2e)

FY 2024 = 434 (Scope 1)

FY 2024 = 15,785 (Scope 2)

ENERGY USAGE FOR DIRECT PAID + LEASED LANDLORD UTILITIES
(kBtu)

FY 2024 = 128,230,024

 

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY5
(mtCO2e)

FY 2023 = 168 (Scope 1)

FY 2023 = 6,119 (Scope 2)

WATER USAGE FOR DIRECT PAID + LEASED LANDLORD UTILITIES
(kGal)

FY 2024 = 34,814

 

Footnotes

1Prior to FY 2024, all reporting on emissions, energy usage and water usage only included locations with direct paid utilities by Adtalem. The FY 2024 numbers reflected in this data set are intended to compare year-over-year changes in these metrics for direct paid utility locations.
2Nonrecycled waste data includes sites from the following locations: Addison, IL; Long Beach, CA; Boise, ID; Miramar, FL; Naperville, IL; North Brunswick, NJ; Sacramento, CA; Tinley Park, IL; Chicago, IL.
3Water Usage data includes sites from the following locations: Addison, IL; Boise, ID; Naperville, IL; New Brunswick, NJ; Pearland, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Tinley Park, IL; Miramar, FL.
4FY 2024 environmental data has been expanded to include a total of 41 locations, up from 15 locations in FY 2023, including both direct-paid utilities and landlord owned locations (which includes the Caribbean). Beginning in FY 2025, FY 2024 and its expanded scope of environmental data tracking will be used as Adtalem’s new baseline for calculations and comparisons of emissions, water usage, energy usage. Waste calculations will continue to be conducted using direct paid site data.
5The calculation for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions intensity is based on active square footage within Adtalem’s portfolio of locations throughout the year. The calculation adjusts square footage for the number of days a given site was active during the fiscal year. For relevant active sites, certain start dates were estimated based on the beginning of electricity consumption data from our third party provider.