Sustainable purchasing

Initiatives

Make purchases that reflect your values.

• Purchase products that align with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth’s criteria for food and beverages that were produced using environmentally sustainable practices. 

• Goal: 15% of total food spend
• Sample milestone: purchase 2% of total food spend over 12 months 

• Purchase products that align with Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth’s criteria for food and beverages that were produced using high animal welfare practices. 

• Goal: 10% of total animal product category spend
• Sample milestone: 5% of total animal product category spend over 12 months (where animal product categories are poultry, beef, pork, eggs, and dairy) 

Purchasing seafood.

• Purchase seafood that meets Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch’s “good alternatives” or preferably "best choices" list. 

• Goal: 100% of total seafood spend
• Sample milestone: 5% of total seafood spend over 12 months 

• Work with vendors to eliminate all purchases of wild-caught and farmed seafood listed as “avoid” by Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.
• Purchase seafood from community-based fisheries whenever possible.

• Goal: 15% of total seafood spend

Buy and serve less meat and more plants.

• Reduce carbon and water footprint by reducing animal products purchased.

• Goal: 25% reduction in associated GHG by 2030 from your baseline
• Sample milestone: 5% reduction in associated GHG from previous year
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• Goal: 25% reduction in associated water usage by 2030 from your baseline
• Sample milestone: 5% reduction in associated water usage from previous year

• Take the Coolfood Pledge.
• Offer whole or minimally-processed, plant-based main dishes at each meal service.

Reduce waste in your food service operations.

• Reduce food waste through source reduction, rescue, and recycling strategies. (Recycled food refers to uses for inedible food like animal feeding; anaerobic digestion; industrial uses for fats, oils, and grease; and composting.)

• Goal: 50% reduction in associated GHG by 2030 from your baseline
• Sample milestone: 10% reduction in associated GHG from previous year

• Use reusable food service ware whenever possible (e.g., cafeteria, to go, patient tray, catering, and other retail outlets). 
• Eliminate plastic bottles and offer price incentives for customers who bring their own coffee cups or food containers. 
• Offer a variety of products in bulk, such as condiments (rather than single-serve packets), milk, and grab-n-go items like fruit.
• Reduce plate waste and meal costs and improve patient satisfaction by using a room service model with patient meals, compared to a traditional food service model.

Support values-aligned producers.

• Support cost-sharing for approved programs, labels, and third-party certifications and/or administrative infrastructure in maintaining them. 
• Leverage forward contracting or other multi-year commitments to support crop planning, minimize risk, and enable long-term collaboration with small and mid-sized producers. Although the focus is on school districts, this webinar is a great example of how to buy food from local producers using a forward contract, and it offers insight that can be easily adapted for health care. 

Promote food purchased from values-aligned producers.

• Use marketing and education programs to promote climate-friendly diets and ecologically sustainable food and farm businesses.
• Employ strategic marketing to highlight values-aligned farms and ranches.

Communicate with your vendors.

• Utilize RFPs and contracts with vendors to ensure they will help you meet your values-based purchasing goals.
• Work with vendors and suppliers to establish supply chain transparency.
• Work with vendors to reduce the amount of packaging on food products.
• Work with vendors and suppliers to source underutilized produce and seafood whenever possible. Farm seconds, also known as “ugly fruits,” which may not be suitable for retail markets because of their appearance, are perfect for institutional kitchens. Ask local farmers or distributors about seconds to save money and prevent food waste. Many seafood species in our local waters are underutilized because they are unfamiliar, yet make excellent substitutes for more commonly-known fish. 

Engage in public policy advocacy.

• Identify allied organizations to add weight to your voice. Consider seeking support from professional associations or reputable advocacy groups. 
• Work with local governments and/or community-based organizations on policy initiatives. 
• Create climate action plans that incorporate food purchasing and waste reduction strategies. 
• Stay abreast on the issue and the status of pertinent policy, such as sign-on letters of support for policy reform.
• Advocate through your own personal choices. For example, you can choose to purchase meat that has been raised without the use of antibiotics for disease prevention or other routine purposes.