Medical products are essential for maintaining modern and high-quality health care systems. At the same time, they can be a threat to both the environment and our health due to hazardous content, and a high level of resource exploitation. According to Health Care Without Harm Europe, the global health care sector is responsible for almost 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 71% of that, is primarily derived from health care product supply chains (scope 3 emissions). If the health sector were a country, it would be the fifth largest polluter on Earth.
This project seeks to challenge the market to develop more sustainable medical products.
In close dialogue with the market, the project will reduce the use and spread of both environmentally and health damaging products and substances in a lifecycle perspective, through greener procurements of medical supplies.
The project aims to
- Involve the market through dialogue, to discuss challenges and viable solutions
- Testing/developing and procuring greener products, to contribute to a rise in the number of environmentally certified medical products. Aim: 30 % of procured medical products shall be environmentally labelled by 2030
By asking for third party environmental certification of medical products, the project aims to:
- Reduce the use and spread of toxins, thereby safeguarding all living creatures, and reducing exposure to hazardous substances for patients and employees
- Make public procurement of greener products easier – both for public contractors and suppliers
- Achieve long term cost-savings for contracting authorities by facilitating supplier and product audits through simple license checks
- Together pave the way for a transition towards a circular economy, with non-toxic products
- Stimulate the suppliers to produce more environmentally friendly products
- Contribute to reaching Sustainable Development Goals no. 3,6, 7, 9, 12, 13 and 17. The partners in the project have all committed to reaching goals under these SDGs, and this project will be an important part of the necessary efforts to reach the goals by 2030
The aim for short term results is research, development (R&D) and certification of more third party environmentally labelled medical products.
Project partner
The project will be led by the Norwegian Hospital Procurement Trust in collaboration with the National Supplier Development Programme/NHO, National Secretariat for Sustainable Procurement, Danish Regions, Landspítali and HUS.
