February 11, 2026
First, do no harm.
As their first steps into the profession, doctors recite the Hippocratic Oath as a reminder of the ethical principles that guide their practice. Calling upon various Greek gods, new physicians swear to “abstain from all intentional wrongdoing and harm.”
Yet today, the healthcare sector faces a profound ethical contradiction. According to a report by Health Care Without Harm, in collaboration with Arup, healthcare is responsible for 4.4% of global net greenhouse gas emissions, or roughly 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Hospitals exist to save lives. However, the electricity that exists as their lifelines is contributing to a climate crisis that threatens health outcomes at every level, from rising heat-related illnesses to worsening air quality.
This contradiction has pushed healthcare institutions to rethink how they source and consume energy, particularly in countries like the Philippines, where electricity generation remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
In response to the growing recognition that climate change is a public health issue, the Department of Health (DOH) established the Health and Climate Change Office. Among its priorities is to lower emissions across healthcare facilities nationwide – from public hospitals down to barangay health clinics.
As early as 2024, the DOH was exploring renewable energy as a pathway for healthcare facilities. In a policy dialogue convened by the Asian Development Bank, The Climate Reality Project Philippines, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, and the Climate Change Commission, DOH identified the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) as a mechanism to help hospitals transition away from fossil fuel–based electricity.
GEOP empowers electricity consumers to choose renewable energy as their electricity source, offering institutions a way to reduce emissions while managing long-term energy costs. Yet participation from the healthcare sector remains limited. Out of 852 GEOP participants nationwide, only 16 are hospitals.
One of them is Mary Chiles Hospital, which transitioned to renewable energy under GEOP in November 2025. Seeking an affordable and reliable energy solution, the hospital partnered with 350 Pilipinas, a civil society organization working on climate and energy issues.
Another example is Healthway Cancer Care Hospital, a private specialty cancer hospital in Taguig. By switching to renewable energy through GEOP, the hospital supports its mission to provide high-quality care while reducing its carbon footprint, demonstrating that even energy-intensive specialty facilities can lead the way in sustainability.
Although these examples demonstrate the potential of GEOP to help hospitals integrate renewable energy into their operations and align sustainability with patient care, it has been difficult to onboard hospitals into GEOP.
Hospitals operate around the clock, with life-saving equipment, emergency rooms, and patient care requiring uninterrupted power. However, some GEOP suppliers mostly have solar and wind in their portfolios, which generate electricity only at certain times of the day.
This mismatch between continuous demand and variable supply has made it more difficult for hospitals to participate fully in GEOP, even as they remain committed to renewable energy and sustainability.
This is a challenge faced by many other establishments looking to shift to clean energy via GEOP, as reported in Climate Reality Philippines’ recently published policy brief on the program.
Borne from the organization’s work on renewable energy promotion and stakeholder engagement, the document outlines issues and solutions surrounding the GEOP implementation. These include enhancing information campaigns to raise awareness, lowering the energy requirement to participate in the program, and streamlining existing GEOP processes.
Taking challenges into account, in January 2026, the Department of Energy signed and released amendments to GEOP to address these challenges. A key feature is volume matching, which allows renewable energy suppliers to match the total renewable energy demand over a defined period (like a month), rather than requiring real-time matching.
This allows renewable energy suppliers some flexibility in supplying to their customers – especially for customers that operate beyond the peak hours of solar and wind, such as hospitals.
The amendments also lowered the participation threshold from 100kW to 50kW, opening the door for smaller health facilities, such as barangay health clinics, to join GEOP.
Combined, volume matching and the lower threshold provide a pathway for both large hospitals and smaller community clinics to reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining a reliable energy supply.
With the GEOP amendments in effect, full implementation now banks on the Energy Regulatory Commission to update the corresponding omnibus rules. For the healthcare sector, this represents a tangible opportunity to align operational needs with sustainability goals.
With these GEOP amendments, “first, do no harm” extends beyond the patient bedside, ensuring that the very energy powering hospitals become part of the cure – for patients and the planet alike.
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