Conservation efforts across Health Care Service Corporation are reducing water waste and empowering employees to do the same outside of work.
Overconsumption and other factors can cause low water levels, leading to high concentrations of pollution and, ultimately, help contribute to negative health outcomes.
HCSC has undertaken steps to better understand how water is being used at its Texas health plan headquarters and its corporate data center in Illinois, as part of the company’s sustainability roadmap. The findings provided insight into where water is being wasted and options to increase efficiency.
“We work hard to keep our facilities as sustainable as possible and manage our water efficiently,” says Amy Amaon, HCSC’s sustainability manager. “Many essential business functions rely on water and when we’re being good stewards of our water, we’re helping support our goal as a company of whole-person and community health.”
In 2022, HCSC conducted interviews with personnel and completed a walk-through audit at its Texas health plan headquarters in Richardson. The process led to water conservation actions across the building, including installing high-efficiency faucets and toilets and reducing watering on parts of the property’s landscaping.
Together, the changes are saving nearly 275,000 gallons of water each year.
The sustainability team is planning audits this spring at several sites in Texas and Oklahoma and pursuing similar opportunities in New Mexico. HCSC is also working to establish enterprise-wide water efficiency targets as part of its sustainability push.
In Illinois, water is crucial to cooling and maintaining the center that processes data for the entire organization daily. In 2023 and 2024, the data center implemented a water softener system to boost water use efficiency and reduce the amount of chemically treated water drained into sewers.
Those changes saved more than 1.7 million gallons of water last year and reduced the amount of water to drain by more than 1.2 million gallons. That means more water in Lake Michigan and less chemically treated water in sewers.
HCSC also encourages its employees to better understand their water use and what they can do to conserve it.
In Richardson, a local municipal water district worker recently led employees in a workshop making their own rain barrels. HCSC also hosts water-specific education and programming, and an upcoming book club where participants will read a book about sustainability.
“I think everyone has the capacity to make an impact, especially when it comes to water,” Amaon says.
