While we strive for technologies that save lives, a growing concern in the medtech industry is environmental sustainability. At the 2012 CleanMed Europe Conference on September 26th, Johnson & Johnson released a report revealing that increased global demand for more sustainable health care is driving the creation of “greener” products and purchasing guidelines among health care institutions. It was one of several key findings from a new white paper that was unveiled to more than 400 hospital procurement officials and health care industry leaders from more than 15 countries.
According to Jack De Bokx, senior director of environmental, health, safety and sustainability at Johnson & Johnson, U.K: “It’s clear from our research that the health care industry is holistically embracing sustainability as the driving factor in greener operations, improved health care and lower operating costs.”
Some interesting statistics offered by the study:
More than half (54 percent) of hospitals say green attributes are very important in their purchasing decisions
The majority (85 percent) of hospitals rate being free of heavy metals and latex, end-of-life solutions and energy efficiency as important attributes
More than one-third (35 percent) of hospitals switched suppliers due to additional green/ sustainable product offerings
Check out J&J’s Earthwards website to see the initiatives that companies are taking to ensure more sustainable device development.
White paper: The Growing Importance of More Sustainable Products in the Global Health Care Industry