Environmentally Friendly Approaches for the Hospital Supply Chain
An environmental purchasing consultant from Practice Greenhealth, Lara Sutherland, will present information on means to implement environmentally friendly purchasing practices at the upcoming Association for Healthcare Resources & Materials Management Conference, as reported by Health Data Management.
Ms. Sutherland notes that there are financial benefits for healthcare facilities that choose to adopt such policies. Money is saved by reducing both risk and waste, in addition to conserving resources. An additional benefit is the public accolades often earned for environmentally friendly practices.
She notes that any waste generated by a healthcare organization was originally purchased by that facility. Thus, materials managers can play a key role as a frontline defense to reduce potential waste. One approach that can be implemented is the purchase of green friendly services and materials, in addition to minimizing costs associated with waste from the beginning.
One approach suggested is to pressure vendors to identify those materials who offer environmentally friendly products. An additional approach is to request that vendors provide reports on the utilization of such eco-friendly materials.
Materials managers may additionally implement so called green clauses into contracts with purchasers. Such may require that green materials be utilized unless no such materials are available for a given product.
July 10, 2008 Related topics: Supply chain/SCM, Supplies, Policies & Procedures, Cost savings