One doesn't usually think of healthcare as a "large polluting industry." But in fact, healthcare does take a tremendous toll on the environment and potentially on the health of the very communities in which we serve. We use 10% of all the energy used in the US; we generate thousands of tons of waste each day - including toxic materials and chemical waste; we still rely heavily on the incineration of large portions of waste including pathological and chemotherapy waste; and tons of regular waste continue to be burned, making healthcare a large source of toxic air emissions related to incineration.
There is good news however - Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) is a national program providing hospitals across the country with the framework, tools and resources to literally change the tide so that healthcare as an industry sector shifts to become a beacon of environmental sustainability and leadership. Healthcare facilities join H2E as Partners while organizations such as healthcare and hospital associations, group purchasing organizations, suppliers, and service providers who are helping to "green" the industry, can join H2E as Champions. Both Partners and Champions pledge to work to meet the H2E goals of mercury elimination, waste reduction and environmental excellence. The partnership of communities, technical assistance providers, H2E Partners and Champions, is literally helping to create this sea of change.
On the national level, H2E's program includes a comprehensive website (www.h2e-online.org), a listserv, free monthly teleconferences for Partners and Champions - all designed to facilitate the sharing information, so no facility should have to start any program from scratch. If you're already doing the work, why should you join H2E? Because there's strength in numbers. When hundreds, if not thousands of healthcare facilities are all asking for greener products, the markets will have to respond. If we're going to get manufacturers to design less toxic, more durable, reusable or recyclable products, to mention only a few environmental attributes, then manufacturers need to hear from their customers and the bigger and louder the voice, the better. Manufacturers like Welch Allyn for example, have stopped making mercury-containing equipment. Also, GPOs are basically membership driven and need to hear from that membership. GPOs like Premier, VHA/Novation, and Consorta, H2E Champions, have taken mercury containing products off-contract and have made public commitments to purchase greener products. AmeriNet, also an H2E Champion, is working with their members to prioritize other environmentally preferable products. If facilities were all asking their GPOs to supply recycled content copy paper at a price comparable to virgin paper, GPOs would put pressure on paper suppliers to make the shift - and markets will literally begin shifting.
On a regional or state level, facilities are coming together to create working committees to share information and stretch limited resources. In New Hampshire, for example, the NH3E (NH & H2E) committee first met to brainstorm and prioritize all the many issues facing environmental managers. They meet at various facilities across the state and after the meeting; they tour the facility, especially the trash docks!
