Championing Nursing and Planetary Health: Kevin Hare, RN
As part of a series celebrating 2024 Nursing Awards recipients, we’re sharing stories that highlight the inspiring achievements and impact of nurses and nurse practitioners across BC.
Kevin Hare, MBA, BSN, RN, is the Senior Executive Director of Operations at BC Cancer and the recipient of the 2024 Planetary Health Award. A champion of integrating environmental stewardship into cancer care, he has leveraged his perspective as a Registered Nurse in a senior leadership role to create the Nursing Planetary Health Internship Program at BC Cancer, which provides nurses with dedicated time to develop and implement climate-friendly initiatives. His work has gained national attention and contributes to a more sustainable, climate-resilient healthcare system.
Kevin says his inspiration to pursue the work that led to this award is grounded in his belief that nurses are uniquely positioned to drive meaningful environmental change. He recognized that in cancer care, where operations are large in scale, there is a significant opportunity to reduce the environmental footprint without compromising quality or safety, supporting care for today’s patients while also protecting the health of future generations.
Centering Environmental Sustainability
Through energy-efficient facility upgrades, waste reduction programs and the integration of planetary health into operational decision-making, Kevin has helped bring environmental sustainability into everyday healthcare conversations.
One of the greatest challenges was shifting mindsets and reinforcing that environmental initiatives are not peripheral “extras,” but central to health outcomes.
He addressed this by linking sustainability directly to the core mission of patient care and demonstrating tangible benefits, from operational cost savings to a stronger workplace culture. His work underscores that environmental stewardship and high-quality patient care are complementary goals, while highlighting the connection between patient outcomes and planetary health and motivating colleagues and partner organizations to implement lasting change.
Inspired by the next generation of nurses — innovative, globally aware and deeply committed to equity and sustainability — Kevin says they remind him that the nursing profession will continue to evolve to meet the world’s needs with compassion and courage.
Mentorship and Collaboration
Mentorship is also central to Kevin’s approach. He sees sustainable change in healthcare as requiring diverse perspectives and strong relationships, shaped in part by mentors who challenged him to think bigger. He now carries that mindset forward, fostering teams where collaboration is the default rather than the exception.
“Never underestimate the influence you have as a nurse to spark change.” Kevin advises. “Whether at the bedside, in an executive boardroom or in community outreach, your voice carries the lived truth of patient care. Use it to connect ideas, people and action.”
Programmatic Implementation
Kevin also created the Nursing Planetary Health Internship Program at BC Cancer. The concept is simple: nurses step out of their rotation for 12 weeks and receive dedicated time, space and resources to focus on projects that advance planetary health. In a high-demand environment, this protected time reflects Kevin’s belief that nurses are central to driving systemic change in patient care.
Projects have included eliminating plastic bags for chemotherapy distribution, developing a reusable sharps container and implementing a food waste recycling program. These initiatives demonstrate the clear link between planetary health and patient outcomes, moving sustainability from an abstract idea into a practical, daily part of cancer care in BC.
The program’s impact has extended beyond the province, attracting interest from health organizations across Canada looking to integrate climate-resilient practices into their operations. Uniquely, the internship was created by nurses, for nurses, to empower the profession and harness its collective strength.
This was reaffirmed when a frontline nurse shared that the sustainability initiatives he helped implement made them feel proud to work at BC Cancer because it showed they cared about “the health of the planet, not just the patient in front of us.” For Kevin, this underscored how small, practical changes can boost morale, shift culture and broaden the definition of patient care to include planetary health.
