From: Materials Management Magazine, December 2005
As told to Robert Neil

John W. Strong is president and chief executive officer of Consorta, Schaumburg, Ill. Strong was chief operating officer with Premier Purchasing Partners and was responsible for materials management and pharmacy group purchasing, clinical programs, alternate site services and international programs.

When purchasing products for hospitals, materials managers haven't always made environmental considerations a priority.  And though cost pressures and clinicians' preferences still drive contracting decisions, concern for the environment has started playing a more noticeable role.

That's not to say a hospital or a clinician is going to use a product just because it falls into the "green" category, but it does mean hospitals are looking at alternatives to products-and in some cases companies-that harm the environment.

A new demand is being created, and in any industry, when there's a strong enough demand, companies will rush to meet it.

In a recent conversation with MMHC, Strong talks about the shifting market and some of the changes that have been made in the past few years.

Q Is the environment more of a concern in health care than it used to be?

A It's more of a concern in health care today than it has ever been, but I think it's also more of a concern regardless of whether you're in health care or any other industry. I think we all need to be concerned about the environment and what we are doing as a part of humanity.

Q Is this something that has been led by GPOs, or has it been a push by hospitals, or both?

A I think many Catholic hospitals in particular are interested in the environmental issue. Concern for the environment is actually something that is embodied in the ethical and religious directive for Catholic health care, and it's part of "doing the right thing" for patients, staff and others.

I think there are a number of Catholic systems that are absolutely leaders in trying to acquire more environmentally friendly products.

Q What are some of the things Consorta has done to help hospitals become more environmentally friendly?

A On our Web site, we have a variety of tools and information resources about environmentally preferred products.  We have a portfolio of about 60 or 70 contracts where some or all of the products are environmentally friendly.

We have a searchable database of information that we gather when we do requests for proposals for environmentally preferred products. People can search to see how suppliers have answered a variety of questions about their products, to see what's in them and how the suppliers responded to the questions. I think education is one of our key focuses at this point.

Q Is this something where members have been coming to you looking for help?

A Yes, actually, over the last five years a number of our shareholders in particular have said they'd really like to see us become more active in the environmental arena.

It's something that's important to them, and they've been very encouraging in terms of wanting us to develop educational programs, tools and programs to find suppliers that can deliver these products.

The level of interest varies by member, but many of our members are very interested in this endeavor.

Q Are you more likely to work with a green supplier as opposed to a company that doesn't take the environment into consideration?

A In general, yes we are. If the green suppliers have the distribution capabilities, and have the abilities to work with our member facilities, that's definitely taken into account during the contracting process.

Q What kind of input do members have in that process?

A All of our contracts are awarded by the members, and we use a group of 12 different clinical subcommittees to evaluate products, so they become aware at the subcommittee level that the product or products are green, and that's one of the considerations when they're evaluating the product.

Then they make a recommendation to our contracts and programs committee, which has a representative from each of our 13 shareholders on it as well-they are the ones who actually award the contracts.

We note which products are green and environmentally friendly as part of the overall RFP review process and the recommendations from the subcommittee.

Q Are the vendors made aware of the fact that members will be evaluating prospective contracts based in part on environmental issues?

A Yes. We ask questions about what's in the product, whether it's environmentally friendly and why; and we actually keep a database on the responses so we can sort through and see who responded affirmatively to the fact that the product is green or not.

Q What kinds of results are achieved by asking the right questions?

A I think in health care providers want to do the right thing. After all, the first dictum of health care is "do not harm."  And many products are composed of substances that we are not terribly familiar with or simply take for granted in day-to-day life. It's not until we begin asking questions about what ingredients are used in these products, or what compounds are built into them that we begin to see whether or not they could contain a substance that could be questionable. So, it's an educational process that certainly can be coordinated by the groups and in fact, we ask some of these questions as part of our RFP process, but our members are also starting to ask questions. For example, if they take a look at whether a product is PVC-free or latex-free-these are the kinds of questions they are starting to ask. Does a laboratory reagent, for example, contain mercury as a preservative? By asking theses questions and heightening the suppliers' awareness they also become aware of what goes into the manufacturing of these various products.

Q Does Consorta have a program to help members with the waste management issue?

A We're beginning to take a look at developing contracts for our members dealing with regular waste. We also have contracts for hazardous waste, but beyond that we're trying to contract with supplies for products that can be recycled. We're trying to build that recycle function into our contracts.

For example, if we're contracting for computer monitors and screens, if our supplier can't offer a recycling program, we offer one. So, by working with a computer recycler and our chosen supplier, we close that loop so that the old computer can be recycled and not go into the regular waste stream.

Q How does that work?  How do you arrange for these products to be picked up from the hospitals?

A We have a contract with a company and there are instructions on whether they'll pick up or how to get the product to them. And they will then, in an environmentally correct fashion, recycle the computer components. One of the things we're talking about is building recycling into the equipment we buy, so that when it's disposed of we know it's being disposed of in the correct way as well. It's really in its infancy in many respects.

Q What is the challenging part of doing this?

A Historically, there haven't been a lot of companies that recycle, but more manufacturers are beginning to realize that to complete the sales cycle they need to offer a recycling option and so we're actively seeking companies that offer that.

Q Do you think there might be any regulations coming in the future?

A Well, there have been some regulations in the past.  There certainly have been regulations governing the use of incinerators in hospitals and most hospitals have been trying to phase out incinerators altogether. Hospitals are actively looking at how they can do a better job of purchasing green products, recycling products, and ensuring the content of the products they're buying is not harmful.