Procurement Strategies for Supply Chain Decarbonization

Recognizing that a portion of health care’s emission originates from the purchase of goods and services, Mount Sinai has been tracking both direct and indirect emissions across its supply chain and operations. Understanding the full landscape of our supply chain emissions not only gives us insight into our top contributors but also allows us to focus our efforts on high-impact areas. In 2024, we completed a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory and are now prioritizing interventions. By incorporating sustainability criteria into vendor and product evaluations, participating in reprocessing programs, and streamlining product use, we have decreased our waste and emissions across the Health System. 

Building Sustainability Into the Purchasing Process

At Mount Sinai, it is not just about the cost and quality of the product, but also about sustainable practices. By working with and choosing partners that consider and prioritize sustainability, the Health System ensures that our values are embedded in sustainability and resilience across our entire supply chain. One of the key steps when issuing a Request for Proposal to a prospective supplier is to include questions that contribute to a sustainability scorecard, which helps drive Mount Sinia’s purchasing decisions towards suppliers who share our environmental commitment.

Reprocessing Single Use Medical Devices and Streamlining Resources

The supply chain team has expanded efforts to reprocess single-use medical devices in the operating room and in medical surgical floors. Reprocessing is a Food and Drug Administration- approved process that extends the life of single-use items by cleaning and restoring functionality of medical devices, which are available for re-purchase at a discount. This helps reduce landfill and regulated medical waste and carbon emissions from manufacturing of a new disposable device.

Medical devices labeled “single-use” by the manufacturer are collected after procedures in the operating room or procedure rooms. The medical device reprocessing company retrieves the devices and ships them to the reprocessing plant. Here, they are traced and identified, cleaned, tested, and sterilized. These devices must meet the same regulatory requirements as the original devices, ensuring high standards of patient safety and effectiveness. At this point, the hospital can purchase the reprocessed devices.

By educating our staff and providing additional containers to collect medical devices that qualify for re-use, we have made a significant impact on the waste generated throughout the Health System. We have expanded the reprocessing program to include purchasing reprocessed ultrasonic scalpels, ECG cables, and transition mats.

In addition, one of the most effective methods to decreasing carbon emissions is by streamlining the products that enter our surgical and procedural trays. Mount Sinai’s perioperative staff and surgeons are actively engaged in reviewing and reformulating instruments to cut out wasteful and unnecessary products.

Building Resiliency Into the Supply Chain

Supply shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the importance of creating a strong and flexible supply chain.  Mount Sinai’s purchasing team developed a robust system of backup local and regional suppliers to ensure that we maintain an adequate reserve and supply during potential interruptions. The goal is to be able to provide continuity of care even when there are shortages from supplies or interruptions during climate-related events. Mount Sinai also warehouses critical supplies to ensure resiliency so that we remain ready and able to serve our patients and the surrounding community when we are most needed.