Sustainability in the Health Care Industry

Sustainability is becoming more important across the health care industry.

It is increasingly a key factor in the decision-making process at the very highest level. It is high on the agendas of C-level executives. Few, if any, strategic decisions are taken without considering sustainability.

So important has this become that if a company wants to sell into the health care industry, it has to demonstrate a strong position on sustainability. Failure to do this often means that a company will be excluded from even bidding for the opportunity to supply products and services into health care providers.

Consequently, the medical device manufacturers are under pressure from health care providers, hospitals, consumers and increasingly from government legislators to offer more sustainable solutions. Today, sustainability is no longer an option—it is an essential part of doing business in the health care market.

Health care systems are some of the largest organizations in the world, with huge purchasing power. So they can, and do, influence their supply chains to consider environmental and other sustainability issues during the design, manufacture and delivery of medical products and services.

If we consider medical devices in particular, we can begin to understand why sustainability is needed and is becoming increasingly important to our clients. 

The disposable culture in health care devices means that medical device waste is a huge and growing problem globally. Devices are becoming more complex, combining different materials and often nowadays incorporating electronic components. All of this is making recycling more difficult and expensive.

The health care industry accounts for a huge 4.4% of carbon emissions worldwide. The majority of this comes from the supply chain, more than 70%—another reason why health care organizations are putting pressure on their supply chain to improve their sustainability credentials. If the health care industry was a country, it would be the world’s seventh largest polluter.

To help address this problem, the medical devices industry in Europe has defined what ”good” looks like in sustainability for medical devices:

Good health and well-being, responsible consumption and production, climate action and partnerships are the goals which we see as particularly relevant for our trade association.

So, how can suppliers of components and end products achieve their goals on sustainability? We need to collaborate early in the design process—as early as possible—as 80% of the impact on sustainability happens at the start of the design process. By being involved in these early design decisions with clients, suppliers can have the biggest influence and be of the most help to them.

Discussion topics may focus around reducing power consumption, reducing size and weight and using fewer components through higher integration. We can also review how electronic devices can be manufactured responsibly and reused or recycled at the end of their lives.

However, we must always bear in mind that the prime objectives of a medical device are its efficacy, or how effective it is, and safety. These will always rank higher than sustainability for a medical device. Therefore we need to look for smart ways to improve sustainability without compromising efficacy or safety.

We can summarize the benefits of making more sustainable medical devices:

• Sustainable devices are better for the environment, and nowadays are more attractive to consumers and end users, who will pay a premium for more sustainable solutions.
• A more responsible approach to business will attract investors and customers. Cost can be saved, and combined with end users looking for more sustainable products and services, will give companies a competitive advantage.
• There are opportunities to reduce carbon emissions, save energy and water and reduce material waste. We don’t need big, sweeping changes. Small changes at each stage of the product lifecycle can have a huge positive impact in the overall sustainability of that product.
• The search for more environmentally friendly materials has resulted in medical products that are more compatible with the human body and are better tolerated by the skin or in an implant. This not only gives a better patient outcome but improves sustainability as well.

For more information visit our medical devices and solutions page. Learn more about our commitment to sustainability.