Climate change is a persistent and important issue globally. Many countries and companies are doing their best to implement policies to combat rapid global warming, but some industries are doing better than others. The medical device industry is slow to change its sustainability practices, mainly because it faces stringent regulations. Due to the nature of the product, risk and quality control standards are often uncompromising because changes cannot be made at the expense of people’s health.
However, despite the challenges facing the industry, the medical device sector is not doing enough to be more environmentally sustainable, according to a recent poll by GlobalData. When asked if the industry is doing enough, he said 58% of respondents said no and 42% said yes. Although the medical device industry faces stricter regulations, especially compared to other industries, medical device companies and the healthcare industry as a whole need to be as green as possible.
There are many ways medical device companies can improve their environmental sustainability practices, starting with waste reduction. Medical facilities generate a lot of waste from disposable instruments such as sharps, microchemotherapy and pathological waste. The use of disposable products has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as the use of products such as masks and gloves has increased significantly.
Hospitals are also the most energy-intensive of all publicly funded buildings, so switching to renewable energy could have a significant impact. Additionally, the use of digital health can help companies achieve their sustainability goals. Digital health tools enable healthcare professionals to continue delivering healthcare to their patients, maximizing value while minimizing resources. The use of digital health tools such as telemedicine can also help prevent medical travel and limit CO.2 emissions. Similarly, cloud services can contribute to good sustainability practices by saving the materials required for on-site hardware and help reduce CO.2 emissions.
The general consensus is that the medical device industry is not doing enough to become more environmentally sustainable, but some companies are taking various measures to reduce CO. .2 emissions. For example, Philips recently created an ecodesign program. The program’s goal is to reduce overall environmental impact from the start of the innovation and design process. Philips plans to improve the energy efficiency of its products, use less resources and increase recycled content, avoid the use of hazardous substances, design with circularity in mind, and make packaging easier to recycle and reuse. doing.
If more companies in the medical device industry could develop programs similar to Philips’ EcoDesign program, the medical device CO2 Emissions may be reduced.Environmental sustainability is becoming more important every day, medical device companies need to act urgently to reduce waste and CO22 emissions.
related company
