May 14, 2025
First Do No Harm: The Movement to Cut Fossil Fuels from Healthcare Is Just Getting Started
The climate crisis is a health crisis—and the U.S. healthcare system is fueling it.
On April 23, we officially launched the First Do No Harm campaign with a powerful webinar bringing together public health experts, financial analysts, and frontline organizers. Together, we exposed a shocking truth: many of the nation’s leading hospitals—institutions that exist to protect human life—are investing billions in fossil fuels.
This moment marks the beginning of a growing movement of health professionals and allies demanding that hospitals divest from fossil fuels and align their finances with their mission: to heal, not harm.
On April 23, healthcare workers, climate advocates, and allies came together for the official launch of the First Do No Harm campaign—spotlighting the urgent need for U.S. hospitals to divest from fossil fuels and invest in a climate-safe future.
Missed the webinar? You can watch the full recording here: https://youtu.be/eyx_iGpsefs
Whether you’re organizing inside a hospital system or looking to take action on your own retirement savings, we’ve got the tools to help you make an impact.
FDNH Campaign Toolkit: Social Media + Collective Action Tools
This toolkit is designed to support First Do No Harm campaign outreach and organizing. It includes:
Sample social media posts and graphics
Campaign background and talking points
Outreach emails and event promotion templates
Materials to mobilize your colleagues and networks
📎 Use this toolkit to spread the word, engage other health professionals, and help push your institution to divest from fossil fuels.
Access the FDNH Toolkit here
Climate Safe Retirement Funds Advocacy Toolkit: Take Action on Your 401(k)
This toolkit is for individuals who want to make sure their personal retirement savings aren’t funding climate destruction. It includes:
Step-by-step instructions for requesting fossil-free investment options
Template emails to HR or retirement plan administrators
Questions to ask your plan provider or union
Tips for evaluating greenwashed funds
📎 Use this toolkit to take control of your retirement savings and demand climate-safe, responsible investment choices.
Access the Climate Safe Retirement Funds Advocacy Toolkit here
Key Highlights from the Launch:
Dr. Joe Vipond, Dr. Shweta Narayan, and Dan Cohn powerfully illustrated how fossil fuels threaten both global public health and healthcare system resilience.
We revealed billions of dollars invested in fossil fuels by major U.S. health systems—including Mayo Clinic, Providence, Kaiser Permanente, and Cleveland Clinic.
We issued a clear call: It’s time for hospitals to align their financial practices with their health missions—and stop fueling climate collapse.
🌐 We Launched the First Do No Harm Website!
At the heart of the campaign is a powerful new digital hub: firstdonoharm.earth
Unveiled during the April 23 webinar, the site brings the campaign to life with:
Our open letter to U.S. hospital CEOs
A growing list of health professional endorsements
The latest data on fossil fuel investments in the health sector
Tools to take action, share the campaign, and stay involved
📎 The website is designed to inform, mobilize, and connect health professionals and allies in the fight for climate-safe healthcare.
What You Can Do Next:
Endorse the campaign as a health professional: Join the call for divestment
Share the campaign with colleagues and on social media
Talk to your hospital’s leadership about divestment and climate safe retirement options
Take action on your retirement plan if you’re a healthcare worker or not!
And now, you can go even deeper.
Don Lieber, Campaign Director of First Do No Harm, recently joined The Healthcare Policy Podcast for a powerful conversation about how the U.S. health sector is financing fossil fuels—and why that must change.
Listen to the episode here:
https://www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com/p/director-don-lieber-discusses-the
