SPECIAL FOCUS


• Look at what your organization could close the loop on to increase circularity – removing the ‘dispose’ element from the pervasive ‘take, make, dispose’ model much of our economy operates within today. As one example, ques- tion the way you transport goods. Could those containers be substituted with a non-virgin material, choosing from options like renewable or recycled content, and reused throughout the supply chain?


• For items that require virgin material, look at local facility recycling capabilities in the areas where you operate.


• Finally, look at surplus products. Is there a bet- ter outlet for these items than the landfill and opportunity to reduce waste?”


Stacey Winston, Vice President, Program Management, Intalere


“Supply Chain can help organizations achieve and maintain sustainability goals in a number of ways. Not only can they assist internal initiatives in supporting operations and facility manage- ment and achieving energy conservation, waste elimination, etc., by identifying opportunities within different categories of spend and being diligent themselves as employees, but Supply Chain teams can also extend the sustainability initiatives into their Tier 1 and Tier 2 supply base to expand the impact across the integrated supply chain.”


Supplier-based external focus The key strategy and tactic for this effort is to incorporate sustainability into contract language and negotiations upfront, experts advise.


Thresa Pattee, Director, Sustainability, Greenhealth Exchange


“Develop contracts for sustainable products that: • Include criteria and reporting requirements in RFI/RFP/RFQ.


• Include sustainability data submission require- ments as part of the terms and conditions.


• Encourage GPOs to include criteria and reporting requirements in RFI/RFP/RFQ and require data submission requirements as part of the terms and conditions.


• Encourage GPOs to expand informational data around sustainability criteria


• Encourage GPOs to highlight sustainable prod- ucts in their product catalogs and contract launch documents. “Contract Management for sustainability-


focused agreements [should]: • Communicate to suppliers that the submission of sustainability data to GPOs and on your RFP/ RFI is important and may be factored into vendor performance measurements.


• Include sustainability components in [quarterly business reviews] and track progress against previous quarter.


• Encourage your GPO to require submission of supplier sustainability data and include it in their [quarterly business reviews].


• Communicate with suppliers on what the organi- zational sustainability priorities are so that suppli- ers can respond with opportunities and prepare with product development.


“Contract Renewals [should include]: • Evaluation of progress towards goals at the health system and GPO level.


• Review of roadblocks at the health system and GPO level.


• Review of goals to determine success at the health system and GPO level.


• Evaluation of market evolution/movement to determine if new (improved) goals are feasible at the health system and GPO level.


• Communication of new goals to suppliers at the health system and GPO level.”


Zoë Beck, Manager, Sustainability, HealthTrust


“Continue to ask the standard questions about medical products. Continue to present the an- swers to these questions in the sourcing process to encourage discussion around environmental health attributes of products. By continuing to ask the questions and present them in the sourcing process, the conversation continues and we continue to encourage suppliers and health systems to consider sustainability in their purchasing decisions. “Incorporate questions about the supplier’s


internal efforts on sustainability to better un- derstand the companies with whom we do business. This will also help health systems and hospitals to report out on environmental, social and governance factors. This is currently a deci- sion factor for many in choosing with whom they do business and from whom they consume goods or services. “Educate supply chain professionals on the


environmental factors that you are considering in contracting. Many are not aware of these factors and how they affect patients, clinicians, staff and the surrounding communities. When supply chain teams are more educated, they will be more equipped to take environmental health factors into account when contracting.”


Rob Chase, Founder and President, NewGen Surgical


“Include in new supply agreements language that allows for the flexibility to purchase sustain- able products. If a new vendor brings to market a sustainable product, you want to be able to evaluate and potentially integrate that product into your surgical suites without being negatively penalized for doing the right thing and support- ing a healthy planet. Call it the ‘Sustainability Clause.’ Like a new technology clause in many contracts, this is an area where hospitals should support innovation, especially when it addresses climate change and or plastic pollution.


“Healthcare contributes 10 percent of all CO2 emissions in the U.S. Recent studies (Health Care


associated with the products and services used in the delivery of care. The healthcare industry can reduce its emissions with what we call climate smart procurement and products, but it’s going to need the support of distributors. Hospitals that have carbon reduction goals are going to need to engage supply chain and communicate to vendors the importance of un- derstanding and measuring their own product emissions. [They must be] able to measure the embedded energy and emissions associated with the production of each product, which will be essential to greening the supply chain. [They must] discuss sustainability and possibly require submissions of product environmental metrics by the vendors. Every product has a footprint. If you have a product that performs as good as or better, and is better for the environment, aren’t we compelled to use it? “Require vendors to measure and report on Chemical of Concerns in their products through the use of an environmental scorecard. We also have a program Small Change Big Impact – where we worked with Dr. Ann Blake to scientifically and methodically measure our envi- ronmental impacts – plastic reduction and Scope 3 GHG. So many companies make claims, but you have to measure and have them based in science. While we pass all environmental score- cards, there is an excellent article by Dr. Jodi Sherman of the Yale University School of Medi- cine and Public Health and Dr. Cassandra Thiel, PhD, ‘Reducing Plastic Pollution from the Health Care Industry.’ that really outlines the need for a central widely adopted measurement that is clinical and science-based. I believe once one of these certifications and guidelines becomes the standard, it will be easier to know you are making the most impactful and measurable deci- sions on sustainability initiatives you can.” [Edi- tor’s Note: For more information, visit https:// ghgprotocol.org/standards/scope-3-standard and https://www.carbontrust.com/.]


Without Harm) suggest that up to 71 percent of healthcare’s CO2


emissions are ‘Scope 3’ and


Elise Bexley, Manager, Strategic Accounts, WestCMR


“Supply Chains may seek out partnerships with healthcare consulting companies or explore joining a collaborative. These types of organiza- tions are committed to providing their facilities with resources that offer sustainable solutions.”


Andrew Knox, Manager, Environmentally Preferred Products, Premier


“On a fundamental level, Supply Chain must incorporate sustainability-related questions into the RFI/RFP process and documentation. Meaningful action starts with asking strong questions. In addition, Supply Chain should work with suppliers and service companies to make


hpnonline.com • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • November 2020 13


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