Tools and resources

Managing pharmaceutical waste: A 10-step blueprint

• Waste
• Pharmaceutical Waste
• Guide
• Less Waste

The Healthcare Environmental Resource Center (HERC) and Practice Greenhealth recommend this 10-step approach to help you develop and implement a comprehensive pharmaceutical hazardous waste management program – one that combines regulatory compliance and best management practices with waste minimization – to safeguard human health and the environment, while minimizing risk in a cost-effective…

Learn More

Suggested Environmental Considerations for Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) Equipment and Supplies

• Supply Chain
• Guide
• Suppliers and Deliveries
• Purchasing

Green maintenance and operations products can improve indoor air quality, reduce the use of water and other natural resources and increase energy efficiency. Since there are thousands of products used in maintenance, repair and operations, it is important for purchasers to understand which types of environmental claims are credible. This guide contains some suggested environmental questions for…

Learn More

Environmental considerations for paint, sealants, and adhesives

• Sustainable procurement
• Buildings
• Green Building

The most important considerations for interior paints is occupant health and performance. It is critical to consider that paint has low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. There is no perfect test right now for emissions from wet-applied products, so the best bet is to make sure it has both low VOC content (under 50 g/L for flat paint), and has met California Section 01350 emissions…

Learn More

Palomar Health: Sustainable, local, and organic food purchasing

• Food and Beverage Purchasing
• Food Case Study
• Food
• Case Study
• Food Service

With its position in the community, 4,400 employees, and over 2 million meals prepared per year, Palomar Health has a significant opportunity to make a positive impact on human health and the environment by serving more sustainable, local, and organic produce. This case study highlights this California health system's efforts to leverage the supply chain, collaborate with other hospitals, educate…

Learn More

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center: Reusable isolation gowns

• Case Study
• Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
• Sustainable procurement
• Toolkit

(Less waste toolkit) Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, located in West Los Angeles, began a reusable isolation gown pilot project in May 2012, starting with a liver transplant unit that was using 1,000 disposable isolation gowns per day. During a collaborative six-month trial period, the reusable isolation gown design was finalized and rolled out. The reusable gowns offer more comfort and better…

Learn More

RMW Reduction Clinical Plastics Recycling: Clinical Plastics Virginia Mason 2016

• Waste
• Reuse or Donate
• Textile Reuse
• Exemplary Document
• Virginia Mason
• Guide
• Policy

The Warm Toes Project at Virginia Mason donates PACU socks to the homeless. Virginia Mason has donated an average of 10 pounds of socks per week to Mary's Place Homeless Shelter, which would have otherwise gone in the trash, eliminating disposal costs and diverting 520 pounds per year from the landfill.

Learn More

RMW Reduction Clinical Plastics Recycling: Clinical Plastics Spectrum 2016

• Recycling
• Exemplary Document
• Spectrum Health
• Poster

Spectrum Health provides a sample sign for the recycling of single use surgical instruments.

Learn More

Mayo Clinic Rochester: Medical plastics recycling study

• Exemplary Document
• Mayo Clinic
• Greening the Operating Room
• Medical Plastic Recycling
• Study

This life cycle assessment study conducted for Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. compared the overall environmental impact of disposable polypropylene blue sterilization wraps with that of reusable aluminum hard sterilization cases.  The study found that the reusable hard cases have roughly half the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impact than the disposable polypropylene blue wraps annually.

Learn More

Rethinking health care supply chain costs: Total cost of ownership project

• Cost of Ownership
• Presentation
• Supply Chain
• Sustainable procurement
• Toolkit

(Greenhealth cost of ownership toolkit)  For many medical devices and services, there are submerged costs that are not always reflected in the purchase price and may not be considered during purchasing decisions. Beyond acquisition, these costs include use, maintenance, and end of life costs, such as disposal. Practice Greenhealth tools bring these submerged costs to the surface during the…

Learn More

Reprocessing: Boston Medical Center 2016

• Greening the Operating Room
• Exemplary Document
• Boston Medical Center
• Policy

This resource provides a policy template for establishing and approving a reprocessing and remanufacturing program of single-use or disposable medical devices in accordance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),  the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and other federal, state and local agencies. It outlines definitions, requirements, and policy…

Learn More