Medical Industry
Waste Prevention Round Table

Seminar #5
Green Purchasing
(Environmentally Preferable Purchasing)
in the Medical Industry

November 16, 2000 at King Street Center, Seattle

Introduction and welcome - David Stitzhal

PowerPoint presentation - Kinley Deller
"Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) in the Medical Industry"

Handouts:

• Steps to Implementing an EPP Program (a flow chart)
  
• An Institutional Environmental Policy
  
• General RFP Statements on Environmental Attributes
  
• Matrix of EPP Education Training Needs for Hospitals
  
• EPP Obstacles in Hospitals
• Resource List
  

The best resource on the web
for Environmentally Preferable Purchasing at Hospitals:
"The EPP 'How-To' Guide"
(external link)

Discussion of EPP in medical institutions:

• A suggestion was made that the message of environmentally preferable purchasing needs to reach the purchasing people in the hospitals.
• The best way to do this might be to prepare a 30-45 minute presentation on EPP and present it to the Materials Management Team* at each hospital during one of their regularly scheduled meetings (usually once/month). Presenters should bring lots of handouts so those who are interested can read more later on their own time.
• It was also suggested that the presentation on EPP needs to be targeted at the GPO and manufacturing representatives.
• A follow-up point was made that there may be something MIRT could do (e.g., a letter from MIRT members).
• Additionally, a suggestion was made to try to get the EPP message to CEOs. Possibly make sure that they are invited to the presentations to the Materials Management Teams*.
• Attendees suggested that a letter from EPA might be effective in getting onto the agenda of a regular MMT meeting.
• Individual outreach (phone call to purchasing directors or a letters to CEOs)are often the most effective.
• The chairs of the Materials Management Teams* are usually the Material Management or Purchasing Directors.
• The Materials Management Team* at each hospital reviews products and services and has representation from all of the various hospital departments.
• Most of the hospital representatives in attendance said that their facilities have been making progress toward mercury elimination.
• A few institution representatives mentioned the difficulty/ liability associated with device and product reuse.
• Price margins for manufacturers and suppliers have shrunk a lot in the last four years and this makes flexibility in pricing very difficult.
• Los Angeles County has focused on chemical-use reduction through EPP. Some of the benefits they've experienced include fewer employee sick days and employee complaints about the chemicals.
• The Providence representative mentioned that stewardship (environmental and community) is a motivator for them.
• Disposal of pill bottles was mentioned as a big problem.
• One medical facility said their recycling hauler had stopped taking their glass and they wanted to know what could be done about this. Matt Fikejs from the BIRV will provide them with assistance.
• One attendee asserted that, in their opinion, EPP is more likely to change the character of waste than the volume.

*Also known as Product Selection Team, Product Value Analysis Team, Product Evaluation Committee, Standards Committee and many other names. Meeting Adjourned