4 tips to promote sustainability efforts
The green movement is just good for the environment - it's a path for hospitals to take to reach financial goals
The green movement in healthcare is proving not only to be the right thing to do for the environment but is also a path to financial sustainability.
Erol Odabasi, director of sustainability at Johnson & Johnson’s medical devices and diagnostics division, has watched the demand for sustainable practices increase over the years. Here he suggests four ways to promote sustainability at your hospital.
[See also: Hospitals save money by ‘going green’]
1. Start small. The first step for hospitals, said Odabasi, is finding the proper resources. “Getting access to the right tools and access to the networks is the first step,” he said. Hospitals can turn to a variety of organizations for help, such as the nonprofit organization, Practice Green Health, which helps members who are looking to implement green practices. The organization provides case studies, training, webinars and other tools to help hospitals. “If you do some baseline work assessment, you can find a lot of opportunity,” he said.
2. Green equals green. The key to embedding sustainability, Odabasi said, is monetizing its value. Hospitals that understand the revenue gains to be had by utilizing sustainability are making the investment – and it’s paying off. “At the end of the day it comes down to the finance piece – the economical impact,” Odabasi said. Healthcare organizations should look at establishing a standard methodology for reporting the value of sustainability in their investment decisions or risk losing cost savings and revenue gains by ignoring an initiative's potential.
3. Telling the story. One of the best ways a hospital or healthcare organization can promote sustainability is communicating the revenue gains and environmentally-conscious practices to stakeholders. “A lot of the work that needs to be done in sustainability is behavioral,” said Odabasi. “Communication is key around getting engagement.” And telling the story outside an internal audience can help hospitals differentiate themselves from others, he noted.
4. Purchasing power. “Healthcare organizations should consider interventions across the value chain and collaborate with their procurement team and suppliers to achieve the greatest impact,” Odabasi said. Hospitals should take part in environmentally-preferred purchasing to not only do what’s right for the environment but to save money.
