Collective Healthcare Action to Reduce MedTech Emissions (CHARME) tackles emissions-intensive health care supply chain

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Apr 09, 2024, 12:00 ET

24-month collaborative to catalyze green transformation of the MedTech value chain

OAKLAND, Calif., April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Collective Healthcare Action to Reduce MedTech Emissions (CHARME) collaborative launched today with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that arise from the multi-billion dollar U.S. medical device and equipment supply chain. The MedTech (medical device, equipment, service, and distribution) supply chain accounts for 7% of U.S. health care greenhouse gas emissions. The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council is leading this effort in partnership with Kaiser Permanente and Vizient.

CHARME fills a critical gap in existing decarbonization initiatives and has the potential to improve emission reductions in activities such as manufacturing and transportation practices across the MedTech supply chain. A total of 13 organizations comprising of national and global health systems, medical device and equipment suppliers, distributors, group purchasing organizations, and other key industry stakeholders have expressed their intent to participate, including Advocate Health; Becton, Dickinson and Company; Cardinal Health; Cencora; Health Care Without Harm; Northwell Health; and Stryker, and more organizations are joining daily.

"We are thrilled to be collaborating with some of the most significant participants in the health care supply chain as we work to identify, test, refine and promote specific best practices to move markets toward reduced supply chain emissions," said Kris Spriano, Interim CEO of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council.

"As the largest nonprofit, integrated health care provider in the U.S., with a mission of improving the health of the 68 million people who live in the communities we serve, Kaiser Permanente is committed to reducing our direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions," said Steve Chyung, senior vice president and chief supply chain & procurement executive at Kaiser Permanente. "Reducing the climate impact of the products we procure has a positive impact on both environmental and human health, which ultimately improves chronic conditions and creates more healthy years for our members and the communities we serve."

The CHARME initiative will implement key findings from the white paper Catalyzing Collective Action to Decarbonize Healthcare Roadmap for Health Systems and MedTech Suppliers, which was published in 2023 by Kaiser Permanente, Health Care Without Harm, and Accenture, with input from over 30 organizations. The participating health systems included hundreds of hospitals from across the country, and the suppliers included MedTech companies representing over $1 trillion in annual revenue.

This white paper laid out a 24-month roadmap for health systems, MedTech companies and other stakeholders to work collaboratively on four key decarbonization levers: renewable energy, product innovation, product utilization, and transportation and logistics. Through CHARME, industry leaders will work in alignment with this roadmap to make meaningful progress toward emission reduction goals.

"Vizient is honored to serve as a co-chair in partnership with Kaiser Permanente for this important initiative focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in healthcare. We look forward to collaborating with other industry leaders via CHARME to create a resilient, environmentally sustainable MedTech supply chain as well as identify strategies that may also be appropriate for other sectors to improve human and environmental health," said Simrit Sandhu, president, spend management at Vizient.

For more information, visit https://www.sustainablepurchasing.org/charme

About The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council

The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) is a global community of purchasers, suppliers, advocates, and experts dedicated to driving positive impact through the power of procurement. SPLC provides quick-start guidance and strategy; expert-led strategic program coaching and stakeholder engagement; peer-to-peer collaboration and support; assessment, benchmarking, and performance monitoring; and innovative solutions and learning opportunities. Learn more at www.sustainablepurchasing.org

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.5 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information, go to about.kp.org

About Vizient, Inc.

Vizient, Inc., the nation's largest provider-driven healthcare performance improvement company, serves more than 60% of the nation's acute care providers, which includes 97% of the nation's academic medical centers, and more than 25% of the non-acute care market. Vizient provides expertise, analytics and advisory services, as well as a contract portfolio that represents more than $130 billion in annual purchasing volume. Vizient's solutions and services improve the delivery of high-value care by aligning cost, quality and market performance. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Vizient has offices throughout the United States. Learn more at www.vizientinc.com.

Contact: Allie Furey, Kaiser Permanente
[email protected]

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente