淹没废物

我们的星球有一个无可争议的真理的证明：浪费在世界各地的垃圾填埋场和海洋中堆积。不幸的是，医疗废物是问题的一部分。从一次性注射器到退役的胰岛素泵，安全提供医疗保健的环境成本。作为医疗设备行业的领导者，Medtronic在减少废物方面起着作用。好消息？我们正在正面处理产品垃圾，并努力建立更可持续的未来。

No waste is the best waste

Hospitals in the United States每年生产超过500万吨的医疗废物。为什么？手术室中使用的大多数物品都必须是无菌的，这会产生一次性单用品的需求 - 其中大多数是焚化或发送到垃圾填埋场处置的。医疗保健提供者不能仅仅解决问题。他们需要我们的帮助。这就是为什么Medtronic与世界各地的医院合作，以帮助优化护理服务，减少浪费，并将时间和金钱恢复到医疗保健系统中的原因。自2019年以来，我们收集了将近73吨用过的手术工具，这些工具已转换为电力。像我们的医疗合作伙伴一样，我们认识到我们有责任减少浪费，但是我们可以在不损害质量或对患者安全的承诺的情况下可以减少浪费。

减少，再利用，回收，再投资

“最好的废物是从未造成的废物。”Nathan Pommier, Senior Environmental Health and Safety Manager, Medtronic

While Medtronic is committed to helping healthcare systems reduce medical waste, the work starts with us. Medtronic is working to reduce waste across our operational spectrum – from research and development to manufacturing and distribution. We are constantly looking for new ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle the resources we use to make and distribute our medical devices. Sometimes this means reimagining the way we do our work. At one of our facilities in Galway, Ireland, for example, we changed the way we used chemicals in the manufacturing process to help cut total waste generation by 34%. Reducing waste in this way allows Medtronic to optimize our financial resources and reinvest in the therapies and technologies that improve the lives of two people every second.

A product’s second life

我们的许多设备都植入了体内，因此回收并不是一个容易的选择。但是，我们确实会寻找机会进行翻新和重新处理选择产品，以在情况适当时给他们第二寿命。通过Medtronic“ Takback”计划，我们在2020财政年度收集了超过600万种产品，包括Pulse Oximetry设备和心脏监护仪。我们还接受了与投诉相关的Medtronic设备，以进行返回的产品分析实验室，并在其中进行了测试和分析研究和分析研究和研究。开发目的。每年在那里处理100,000多个设备，其中许多设备由批准的贵金属回收公司回收。

Handle with care, and less packaging

Packaging is an important part of the product life cycle. A package that holds a sterile medical device must arrive at a hospital or clinic without compromise. Plastics and other packaging materials play an essential role in the safe delivery of medical devices. But plastic pollution is a growing global concern. Scientists estimate that每年有八百万吨塑料进入海洋。Fortunately, this is a problem we can help address. As a member of theHealthcare Plastics Recycling Council，Medtronic正在努力为经济上可行的解决方案努力，将塑料从垃圾填埋场中转移。其中包括用于辅助包装的塑料，该塑料保护我们的产品，但没有直接与它们接触。在2020财政年度，我们重新设计了三种产品的二级包装，包括两种用于微创脊柱疗法的产品。脊柱产品的改进包括去除过量的屏障塑料层并减少产品纸箱的尺寸。这些变化在一起，包装大小减少了45％至85％。

更可持续的供应链

减少包装浪费需要与我们供应链中的供应商合作，他们分享了我们对可持续性的承诺。金博宝怎么注册PKG包装是一家位于加利福尼亚州奥克斯纳德的小型少数族裔企业专门提供创新和可持续的包装对于包括Medtronic在内的全国各地的企业。自1998年以来，他们为糖尿病患者使用的胰岛素泵提供了可生物降解和可生物堆肥包装溶液。

员工去绿色

“我们看到越来越多的员工激发了想法和集会，以建立可持续的项目，并取得出色的结果。”瓦洛拉·普特南（Valora Putnam），环境，健康与安全高级主管。

Being a good environmental steward means creating a culture where employees feel empowered to drive sustainability in the workplace. Our employeesare leading efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle itemsused in our offices around the world. Under one global, employee-led initiative, we made our meetings “greener” by eliminating plastic bottles, reducing ground transportation, and eliminating paper by using a mobile meeting app. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we have pivoted to virtual meetings, which benefits the environment and reduces our costs. For example, during the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, we saved 29,568 pounds of paper, 960 pounds of plastic bottles of water bottles, and 384,000 pounds of jet fuel by switching from in-person events to virtual ones. We are reducing the size of our environmental footprint, one step at a time, one meeting at a time.

Small changes can make a big difference

By promoting reusable utensils, cups, and dishes, employees in our Fort Worth, Texas, office eliminated more than 600,000 Styrofoam cups at a cost savings of $12,000 a year in 2019. They also started a weekly clean-up of the facility and surrounding property, a gardening club, and two recycling programs. "If everyone here stopped using Styrofoam, that's 3,000 cups a week saved from the landfill,” said Sandra Rosas, a project manager for Medtronic who led the initiative. “It only takes a small change to make a big difference."

削减废物，加速进度

Reducing waste is a shared responsibility at Medtronic. We are vested in the effort because we recognize the important role we play. From our office workers to the engineers working in labs, each of us can be part of the solution. Already, we are redefining waste, often finding treasure in what was considered trash. We are constantly pushing our own boundaries to prevent waste. The path ahead is challenging, but Medtronic is committed to leading the way.

Learn more about our environmental stewardship。