Environmentally Preferable Purchasing in the Medical Industry Reducing Waste, Hazards, and Cost At the Source

What is Environmentally Preferable Purchasing? EPP is the process of selecting products and services whose environmental impacts have been considered and found to be preferable to those of comparable alternatives.

Examples of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing? Buy digital thermometers Write contract proposals requiring suppliers to take back their packaging Buy reusable SCD boots Purchase recycled content non-chlorine bleached paper Purchase a cleaning chemicals service instead of the chemicals themselves

What are the Benefits of EPP? Potential cost savings Healthier and safer environment for patients and employees Positive publicity Improved impact on the environment from hospital operations

Cost Savings Reduce employee sick leave Reduce spill clean-up costs and chemical disposal costs Reduce liability costs Reduce disposal costs

Reference: C. Galligan, SHP, using data from Mercury Elimination and Reduction Challenge (MERC), "Mercury in the Health Care Sector: The Cost of Alternative Products", November, 1996, pp 14-24

Improve employee and patient safety Reduce risk from accidents, spills and leaks Reduce exposure to chemical allergens

Improve Positive Publicity Hospital is doing something good for the environment EPP products are often of higher quality which increases patient comfort H2E will be showcasing and publicizing positive changes and successes in hospitals

Steps to Implementing EPP Amend hospital policies Set up an EPP team Decide on EPP goals Set up an EPP program Get started with a pilot project Track progress Share success Continue and expand

Hospital Policy A hospital policy to implement and support environmentally preferable purchasing is crucial to the success of the program Hospital policy to look at total cost can also help support an EPP program

Setting up the EPP team EPP team should be made up of hospital professionals working together to coordinate environmental purchasing with the environmental team and product review committees.

EPP team should have: Representation from all relevant departments Members with management responsibility Members motivated to protect the environment Support from top management

The EPP team’s initial tasks Determine measurable goals for EPP program Develop EPP policy Examine resources available Choose small pilot project to implement

Examples of measurable goals Reduce purchase of mercury-containing products by 80% by next year. Increase purchase of recyclables or reusables by 30% by next fiscal year. Reduce packaging waste or total solid waste by 20% in 12 months.

Choosing pilot project Using measurable goals, choose a project that is small, manageable, and has a specific time span Develop an implementation timeline Determine educational needs to implement project

Implementation Work with product selection committee Determine who is responsible for ensuring goals are met Educate staff Implement purchase

Barriers to EPP Lack of administrative support Lack of communication No time to gather the needed information Disposal costs not considered at time of purchase

Continual improvement Determine if goal was met Request feedback Review process Track progress

If goal was met: Assess possibility of expansion Determine next specific pilot project Track and report on progress Publicize and celebrate success

Gain program support through publicity on the value of EPP efforts Use data to create understandable environmental indicators Label environmentally preferable products to educate staff and patients Develop award program for employees making unique contributions

If EPP goal was not met: Do Not Be Discouraged! Request feedback from affected parties Brainstorm on ways to move forward Choose an interim goal or pilot Move forward on new goal or project

What is the best source of information for setting up an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program in a hospital?

The EPP How-to Guide The Guide is a web-based document with links to other resources The EPP How-to Guide is an excellent tool to assist health care organizations in implementing an EPP program

H2E EPP How-to Guide covers what we discussed today: Setting up an EPP team Deciding on EPP goals Setting up the EPP program details Getting started with a pilot project Tracking progress Sharing successes Continuing and expanding

How-to guide website provides links to: Other EPP websites Environmental Claims certifying organizations RFP specifications used by other hospitals Websites listing alternative products

The Website Hospitals for a Healthy Environment’s EPP "How To Guide” /EPP1.htm /EPP1.htm