Materials
This fits in line with public concerns about waste, which is just one reason why across Europe and further afield, many are considering, or even prioritising, carbon-neutrality. Production companies and academic institutions alike are increasingly attuned to this.
Medical-device OEMs are increasingly replacing traditional petro-polymers with bio-based, low-carbon resins. Life-cycle studies show some bio-resins can reduce cradle-to-gate GHG emissions substantially (in some case studies reductions approach ~50% under favourable conditions).
These bio-resins included polylactic acid (PLA) (often produced from corn starch), which is compostable and can be chemically recycled but its mechanical recycling is limited unless sorted carefully; by contrast bio-PE (e.g., sugarcane-based) is chemically identical to conventional PE and can enter existing mechanical recycling streams. The consensus seems to be that large companies such as Philips Healthcare bear a responsibility. This is certainly being taken seriously by Chris Taylor, Philips Healthcare’s sustainability lead for the UK and Ireland, which has been carbon-neutral in its operations, including business travel logistics, since 2020.
It also achieved level four on the NHS’s Evergreen Assessment. According to NHS England, this highest ranking signifies “advanced maturity” and “strong commitment” to integrating sustainability into core business practices.
“The link between planetary health and human health is very well established now, so it’s only right we try to do as much as we can, as quickly as we can,” says Taylor, who notices that NHS supply chains are, like other countries’ systems, increasingly focused on sustainability.
What caused the shift?
Professor Sabu Thomas of the International and Interuniversity Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, at Mahatma Gandhi University, co-authored the Journal of Carbon Research paper cited above. He also explained to Medical Device Developments some of the recent movements the industry is both witnessing and partially responsible for. Thomas thinks there are myriad reasons why medical-device OEMs are replacing traditional petro-polymers with bio-based, low-carbon resins.
“I think there is a major concern about the environment and sustainability,” says Thomas. This is in keeping with the increase in awareness from populations around the world, all keen to work towards lowering their shared carbon footprints. Manufacturers feel the need to meet this growing
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customer demand in its various formats. “I also think lower greenhouse gas emissions, the potential for lower production costs and meeting changing regulatory requirements are a priority for many OEMS,” Thomas continues. Specifically, major events like Brexit and Covid also posed an impact on supply chains and sustainability. However, Philips had already moved some infrastructure to the UK to help with resilience and retains its interconnected focus more than five years after both. “Globally, the industry is aware that these things happen; politics changes and can cause issues. It’s been a wake-up call for some though, that’s been embraced,” reflects Taylor, adding that from a circular economy perspective, people are more understanding of the power of strong supply chains.
What’s happening now? It’s important to focus on improving emissions all throughout the supply chain. This should start as soon as possible, or ideally already be in action. Customers come in towards the end of this process, yet form a major part of the cycle. They’re able to feed back their own opinions to Philips, which also provides them with eco-passports. These present products’ environmental performance, emphasising elements such as energy use, packaging breakdowns, sustainable packaging, material weight and the plastics involved – although this is of course being moved away from. The energy use element tends to be customers’ primary concern. It uses open data from COCIR, the European Trade Association representing the medical imaging, radiotherapy, health ICT and electromedical industries, rather than Philips’ own. This is part of its focus on fairness for customers.
Recycle passports, too, tell customers about the complete product breakdown via a monitoring function and criteria for energy use. Philips also likes to get back its own equipment and secure raw materials as another way of contributing to the circular economy methodology.
Elsewhere, Philips has various priorities. From a sustainability standpoint, it’s energy and plastics are major elements to consider. The firm adheres to specific criteria with plastics, noting how hospital equipment, such as MRI scanners, is a huge consumer of energy.
Reducing energy use is a priority, from the raw materials behind it to moving away from fossil fuel- based plastics to more bioplastics. Recycling plastics throughout their life cycle in healthcare and reducing single-use plastics are other ways of doing it. There is also a business stance for these moves, as well as being solely motivated by sustainability.
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