Tools and resources

Where to find sustainable products

• Sustainable procurement

Sample third-party labels, certifications, and databases for health care goods and services (Sustainable procurement guide) Finding sustainable products in health care is achievable through a number of resources. The list below provides links to sustainable products identified by Practice Greenhealth, Health Care Without Harm, and labels and certifications specific to the health care sector.…

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Standardized environmental criteria guidance

• Sustainable procurement
• Chemicals

Standardized environmental criteria technical details (Sustainable procurement guide) Practice Greenhealth’s standardized environmental criteria are explained in detail below in order for suppliers and health care organizations to understand the intent, rationale, and applications to products. General disclosure Responses to the following criteria are for information and may or may not be…

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Transition from single-use, disposables to reusables

• Sustainable procurement

Part of Purchasing Commitment: Getting started guides Over the years, many products in the operating room setting have transitioned to single-use, disposable products, due to convenience, low cost, and infection prevention concerns. The process has led to significant volumes of plastics and other waste, often with little or no available recycling markets. While the upfront price tag of a…

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Environmental Excellence Awards sample news items

• Awards

Here are two sample news stories as well as a brief description for each of Practice Greenhealth’s Environmental Excellence Awards. Feel free to use some or all of this content as you promote your win internally and externally. You can find additional resources, including award logos, on our website. If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected]. Sample news story 1…

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Webinar: Recycling pharmaceutical agents used for anesthesia

• Anesthetic Gas
• Greenhouse Gas
• Greening the Operating Room
• Webinar
• Clinician engagement

(Anesthetic gas toolkit) The pharmaceutical agents used for anesthesia and analgesia have environmental impacts on air, water, and climate. Learn about environmental impacts and specific examples of waste drugs in water supplies, as well as regulatory issues and a new process that recovers and reuses pharmaceutical agents. 

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NorthShore Health System: Implementing successful waste management/recycling initiatives in the OR

• Greening the Operating Room

This presentation, an exemplary document from NorthShore HealthSystem,  shows how one facility was successful at implementing waste management/recycling initiatives in the operating room.

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Waste Management & Recycling

• Waste

When contracting for Waste Management Services, consider the following suggested RFP questions to assess services available to your organization. This resource was created to provide purchasing guidance to support your organization's sustainability goals in waste reduction.  

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Sustainable Food Service Wares: An Overview

• Sustainable food service operations

The challenges with Styrofoam, how composting and recycling works with food ware, and how to select sustainable food ware.

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Hudson Hospital & Clinic Hudson, Wisconsin: Recycling

• Waste
• Solid waste
• Recycling
• Case Study

Environmental degradation of the St. Croix River prompted community leaders of its border communities to come together to address the issue and resolve to improve river health by improving operations in their respective organizations. Hudson Hospital & Clinic successfully implemented a paper use reduction initiative and enhanced recycling program, which became a building block to ongoing…

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How-to guide: Recycling step-by-step

• Waste
• Solid waste
• Recycling
• Guide

This step-by-step guide will help a health care facility achieve a 15 percent recycling rate compared to total waste. 

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