EPP Policies in Hospitals

It is useful to have policies in place to eliminate certain toxic products or materials from health care facilities, so that everyone is working under the same definition of what should and should not be purchased.

In Europe, environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) policies are usually developed on a national basis. Since European health care systems are generally nationally centralized and administered by the state, it has often been the task for federal governments, regional or municipal authorities to create such policies. In countries where this is not the case, hospital networks have taken the initiative and come up with EPP guidelines. See the EPP in Europe page for examples of these guidelines and policies from Denmark, Sweden and the UK.

In the U.S., healthcare facilities across the country have already implemented a variety of purchasing policies and guidance aimed at reducing healthcare's environmental impact and increasing patient and worker safety. Below are some sample procurement policies and guidance statements after which your facility can model its own.

• Sample Mercury-Free Purchasing Policy (pdf)
• Sample Policy on Purchasing Recycled Content or Recyclable Products (pdf)
• Sample Policy for Purchasing Reusable Products (pdf)
• Sample Policy for Purchasing Food with Reduced Antibiotics (pdf)