Sustainability has garnered significant interest from industry and consumers alike. While it has achieved buzzword status, there are true benefits for companies striving to maintain sustainable practices. This effort may be present in its manufacturing facilities as well as the office environment. Companies heading on this journey are often rewarded with customer loyalty, who recognize the energy a company puts forth to be more environmentally responsible.
Specifically, there are a number of factors and considerations to be aware of when striving to implement more sustainable practices into a business. From waste to sourcing, the number of areas impacted by this effort can be significant. While serving the patient is typically the ultimate goal of medical device manufacturers, if this can be achieved in a more environmentally responsible manner, it’s a win for everyone.
To help provide more insight into what’s required to embark on this journey, Ron Kurz, senior director and GM of business development and medical business at Canon Virginia Inc. responded to a number of questions. In the following Q&A, he makes the case for sustainability and provides a list of benefits that can be realized from the effort.
Sean Fenske: Why should medical device manufacturers be concerned with sustainability when they are making such critical products?
Ron Kurz: Medical device manufacturers in the United States should be concerned with sustainability for several reasons:
- Environmental Responsibility: Sustainable practices can help reduce the ecological footprint of manufacturing processes. These practices include minimizing waste, conserving resources, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Being more environmentally responsible is increasingly important as the healthcare sector seeks to reduce its impact on the planet.
- Reputation and Brand Image: Embracing sustainability can help enhance a company's reputation and brand image. Consumers and healthcare providers often prefer products from manufacturers committed to environmentally responsible practices.
- Supply Chain Resilience: Sustainability efforts can help make supply chains more resilient by reducing reliance on scarce or environmentally sensitive resources. This can help manufacturers establish a stable and consistent supply of critical medical devices.
- Innovation and Competitive Advantage: Focusing on sustainability can help drive innovation within a company. Manufacturers that develop more environmentally friendly and more sustainable products may gain a competitive edge in the market.
While the primary goal of medical device manufacturers is to produce critical healthcare products, incorporating sustainability considerations into their operations is becoming increasingly important due to environmental concerns, regulatory requirements, cost savings, and the potential for improved reputation and competitiveness. In addition, increased sustainability is not just an immediate concern; it's about making an effort to safeguard the long-term viability of the industry and the planet. By adopting more sustainable practices, medical device manufacturers can help contribute to a healthier and more stable future.
Fenske: Is sustainability only important with regard to manufacturing waste or the device packaging?
Kurz: Sustainability efforts in medical device manufacturing encompasses a wide range of factors beyond just waste and packaging. It involves considering the environmental impact of materials, energy usage, transportation, design, and waste reduction, among other aspects, to help minimize the industry's ecological footprint.
- Materials Selection: Choosing sustainable materials for medical devices is crucial. Using recyclable materials that can have a reduced environmental impact can help minimize the overall carbon footprint of the manufacturing process.
- Energy Efficiency: Implementing energy-efficient technologies and processes can help contribute to sustainability.
- Transportation: Choosing efficient transportation methods and optimizing supply chains can help contribute to sustainability.
- Product Design: Designing medical devices with a focus on sustainability can lead to more durable, repairable, and recyclable products. This can help extend the product's lifecycle and reduce waste.
- Waste Reduction: Beyond packaging, minimizing waste generation throughout manufacturing is an objective. Implementing waste reduction strategies and recycling programs can help achieve this goal.
- Lifecycle Assessment: Conducting a lifecycle assessment of medical devices, from raw materials to disposal, can provide insights into their environmental impact and help guide efforts to improve sustainability.
- Carbon Footprint Reduction Strategies: Implementing strategies aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of manufacturing operations, such as using renewable energy sources, may help contribute to sustainability goals.
- Supplier Sustainability: Collaborating with suppliers who also prioritize increased sustainability can have a positive cascading effect on the entire supply chain.
Fenske: With the device itself, is sustainability only important when talking about single-use or disposable products or is it important for reusable devices too?
Kurz: Sustainability efforts in the context of medical devices extends beyond just single-use or disposable products, although those are undoubtedly important aspects to consider. Choosing between single-use or disposable may have a positive environmental impact, but vilifying single-use applications doesn’t make sense. Sometimes, single-use is simply the best option. It makes sense to look at the broader ecosystem of healthcare equipment. Sustainability considerations exist for reusable medical devices, too.
Considerations include the materials used, durability, ease of cleaning and sterilization, and the number of times a product can be safely reused. Designing and manufacturing medical devices with sustainability in mind can lead to products that are not only effective but also more considerate of the environment. Factors like ease of disassembly for recycling, reducing the need for hazardous materials, and optimizing packaging are relevant. At end-of-life, proper disposal and recycling of medical devices is important. Sustainability efforts can be an overarching principle applied to the entire lifecycle of medical devices, from product design to materials selection and manufacturing to use and end-of-life management.
Fenske: What aspects of manufacturing are impacted by sustainability considerations? Is it only the material selected or does the fabrication process matter too?
Kurz: While material selection matters and is an important element of sustainability, it’s not the only factor that must be considered. Sustainability efforts in manufacturing can also be impacted by a number of other factors including: energy efficiency, water usage, waste reduction and disposal, emissions, and supply chain. As an industry and a society, we shouldn’t just focus on the short-term and ignore the possible after-effects. In addition to monitoring and measuring environmental goals and maintaining an ISO 14001 certification, the company has robust service and support and recycling processes it has developed for Canon products as highlighted in the Canon Sustainability Report 2023. In addition, Canon works hard to manage sustainability efforts through strict supplier requirements. Finally, Canon invests in research and development to discover more sustainable materials, efficient processes, and technologies. These efforts are essential for continuous improvement and represent the corporate philosophy of living and working together for the common good.
Fenske: What are the primary challenges associated with trying to be mindful of sustainability when manufacturing medical devices?
Kurz: The medical device industry is highly regulated, and manufacturers must adhere to the strict standards and regulations they are subject to. Changes in materials or processes may require some additional effort. Depending on the product, finding more sustainable materials that meet the stringent requirements for safety, biocompatibility, and sterilization can be difficult. In addition, some medical products are highly complex, which makes manufacturing for sustainability, reparability, or recyclability challenging. That being said, the industry should still strive to adjust where possible. Encouraging a mindset of innovation and the adoption of sustainable practices is essential. This change in mindset is underway, driven by investors, regulators, corporations, and most importantly, customers.
Fenske: Do you have recommendations for medical device manufacturers to ensure they are keeping sustainability in mind while also providing safe and effective medical devices?
Kurz: The relationship between product design, manufacturing, and lifecycle management is integral to efforts towards sustainability. A well-designed product that considers sustainability from the outset is more likely to have a positive environmental and social impact throughout its lifecycle. Moreover, effective lifecycle management strategies help to ensure sustainability considerations remain addressed even after the product has been used. Increasing sustainability efforts starts with the product development and design process, focuses on the entire supply chain and manufacturing process, and includes customer service.
For outsourced manufacturing, a collaboration between the manufacturing company and the medical device company to help make a product more sustainable involves a coordinated effort to assess, improve, and implement sustainability measures throughout the product's lifecycle. It helps when the manufacturing and medical device companies first establish a common understanding of their sustainability goals and objectives. This might include efforts to help reduce carbon emissions in the manufacturing process, minimizing waste, using more sustainable materials, or improving energy efficiency measures. Ideas such as increasing standardizations can help decrease waste while improving efficiency and potentially lowering costs.
Click here to find out more about Canon Virginia >>>>>