SPECIAL FOCUS
• Partner with outside organizations that provide education and sharing opportunities in sustainabil- ity, network with other supply chain professionals doing this work and get educated on sustainability issues/work.”
Zoë Beck, Manager, Sustainability, HealthTrust
“In the current environment, supply chain has been focused on ensuring patients and staff are supported appropriately to manage COVID-19. While their efforts have been focused on COVID-19, some very important sustainability efforts have continued. • Reprocessing. These efforts have expanded to non-traditional products and though most have done this out of necessity, it has helped to ease supply availability and save hospitals money. This is an effort that has been maintained and will continue to support the resiliency of our hospitals.
• Reduce waste. Hospitals have generally worked to reduce waste over time and have continued these efforts recently. Most efforts toward reduc- ing waste save money and help to keep waste out of landfills. These efforts will also continue to support resiliency in our hospitals.
• Reduce chemicals of concern. These efforts have definitely fallen in priority recently as hospitals have raced to focus on keeping supplies avail- able for patient and caregiver safety. However, as hospitals look to the future, consumers are leery about returning to hospitals in general. As hospitals look to reopen and perform more elective procedures, consumers (especially those in younger generations) are looking to feel safe in hospitals. By working tao reduce/eliminate chemicals of concern, they will be better posi- tioned to make patients feel safe in the hospital environment. This includes both medical products and those found in the interior of the hospital (the built environment).”
Rob Chase, Founder and President, NewGen Surgical
“Start integrating low-carbon sustainable prod- ucts in areas that are non-procedure critical. That way you are making meaningful progress without changing anything procedurally on the Operating Room. For example: Eliminating polystyrene packaging trays that are the founda- tion for many of the custom surgical kits used in the OR. By substituting these with plant-based, recyclable alternatives, supply chain can make an easy change with the OR and eliminate tons of plastics waste and corresponding CO2
emissions. “With 35 percent of all hospital waste be-
ing generated in the OR, this is a good place to focus. There are two ways to reduce waste coming from the OR. 1. Keep single use items destined for landfill in circula- tion longer (reprocessing)
2. Move off of single-use plastic products over to reusable or renewable plant-based alternatives and achieving a source reduction of single-use
plastic production, use and disposal. Plant-based renewable products can be easy to integrate and offer a low-carbon, bio-degradable, sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastic. “Supporting companies and purchasing prod-
ucts that have a better climate footprint is some- thing that needs to happen across all industries, and in healthcare it supports healthy communi- ties for today and tomorrow. When companies innovate and create sustainable products, supply chain needs to consider and support [by] pur- chasing these products, assuming they meet the clinical requirements, and support the transition to responsible production and consumption. So really, responsible production and consumption will affect ‘Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being,’ ‘Goal 14: Life Below Water,’ Goal 9: Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, ‘Goal 15: Life on Land’ and ‘Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals.’ [Editor’s Note: These are part of the ‘The Global Goals For Sustainable Development’ initiative.] That is key – working together and collabora- tively to make these changes happen.” [Editor’s Note: For more information, visit https://www.
globalgoals.org/.]
Elise Bexley, Manager, Strategic Accounts, WestCMR
“Incorporate recycling/zero- landfill initiatives. “Develop a [first-in-first-out]
FIFO system and perform routine no-move reports for inventory with a finite shelf life. Facilities should properly track their inventory, allowing them to identify excess or slow-moving items. Prior to expiration, facilities should attempt to return, transfer, or liquidate products for which they have no use. If items are unable to be returned or transferred, utilize companies offering a sustainable alterna- tive for excess inventory, like WestCMR.”
Nicole Misener, Marketing Strategist, WestCMR
“Utilize outlets like West- CMR that offer sustainable solutions for your facility. WestCMR was developed to offer an alternative for when healthcare facilities encounter surplus or obsolete inventory, ultimately reducing material waste.”
Andrew Knox, Manager, Environmentally Preferred Products, Premier
“Today, sustainability is an absolute require- ment for every company and organization. As the consequences of our current practices become clearer – climate change, habitat loss, plastic pollution and more – a greater number of organizations and people are making their voices heard, using sustainability as a lens
12 November 2020 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
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through which to make economic choices and cutting back on waste. “To support these goals, Supply Chain can help enable sustainable practices in three key ways: • Supply Chain must ask questions. It’s critical [that] suppliers know and understand that sus- tainability is an issue of great importance to their customers, and suppliers must have the ability to accurately respond to questions about what’s in their product, how it’s packaged and other environmental attributes. Premier requests for information (RFIs) include questions on environ- mentally preferable policies and practices given an organization’s sustainability efforts rely on strong data collection.
• Make the data available. Supply Chain is in a unique position to obtain vital sustainability- related information from suppliers and pass it on to decision makers within their organizations. It’s also important that Supply Chain has the ability to separate meaningful environmental claims and data from ‘greenwashing.’
• Provide feedback to suppliers. Alongside an organization’s commitment to purchase environ- mentally preferable products, it’s also imperative to let suppliers know that these products were purchased because of their reduced impact. This feedback helps reinforce to suppliers that the sustainable efforts and environmental improve- ments they undertake provide value and ROI to their purchasers and the market at large.”
Cristina Indiveri, Senior Director, Strategic Programs, Vizient
“Supply chain leaders can help their organi- zation grow in the area of environmentally preferred sourcing through education, setting goals and tracking performance. Education of supply chain staff starts with providing an understanding of environmentally preferred attributes and the significance of those in meeting organizational goals. Educating clinical and non-clinical staff will be important for the adoption of environmentally preferred products when changes occur. They need to understand ‘the what’ and ‘the why’ when product changes occur. In addition, they need to understand how they can provide feedback when product changes occur so concerns can be efficiently addressed. Lastly, the supply chain needs to set goals for the adoption of environmentally preferred products and then ensure there will be data and analytics to support the work and measure performance.”
Hannah Anderson, Sustainability Specialist, Medline Industries
“Sustainable supply chain encourages organi- zations to consider lateral, deep programs in scale that have the power to affect meaningful change. The most common approaches are recycling, reusability and reducing supply chain waste. Some tips to help maintain efforts:
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