Introducing the Climate Excellence Standard for Health Sector Suppliers

Cencora first supplier to meet new standard

Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, along with their Health Care Climate Council, announced the creation of a Climate Excellence Standard for Health Sector Suppliers to accelerate the reduction of emissions in the health sector and build resilience within the health care supply chain.

The U.S. health care system, which is responsible for 8.5% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, has a collective responsibility to drastically reduce its negative impacts on people and the planet.

The purchase of products and services is a significant source of health sector emissions, accounting for an average of 50% of a typical U.S. hospital’s overall emissions.

The standard defines superior performance in decarbonization for individual suppliers – including manufacturers and distributors. It aims to accelerate the reduction of emissions in the health sector supply chain through meaningful engagement and collaboration between health systems and suppliers, and to ensure the health care supply chain is on track to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 while improving resilience.

“When the Health Care Climate Council established this standard, it signaled an important commitment to continue their leadership in the sector on climate action,” said Emily Mediate, Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth’s chief program officer. “The health care sector’s purchasing power can transform the market and supply chain, leading the way toward a more sustainable future.”

After the standard was created, an initial evaluation was performed on the 15 medtech suppliers the 19 U.S. health systems in the Health Care Climate Council spend the most money with.

One of those suppliers, Cencora, achieved the standard. Cencora plans to join Practice Greenhealth and Health Care Without Harm at their annual sustainability conference CleanMed in Salt Lake City May 21-23 to discuss actions health care organizations can take to support the implementation and use of the standard while encouraging more suppliers to reduce their emissions.

“Cencora is proud to be recognized as the first global pharmaceutical supplier to attain the Climate Excellence Standard for Health Sector Suppliers, reinforcing our dedication to environmentally sustainable operations,” said Susan Lorenz-Fisher, Cencora’s senior vice president of global sustainability, ESG integration & real estate. “Our continued collaboration with Health Care Without Harm, health care customers, and other suppliers is in direct alignment with our commitment to cutting our greenhouse gas emissions in half over the next decade.”
 
The standard will be updated periodically to stay aligned with rapidly evolving developments in supply chain decarbonization, ensuring that it continues to define the standard for excellence.