Dignity Health: Why Health Care Values Chemical Footprinting
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“Regardless of a patient’s need to visit our facilities, we serve as their advocate. Everything from the tissues in the waiting room to the medical device that may be implanted into their body needs to be considered for safety. One of our main priorities is to ensure they maintain their dignity while being a patient.”
Dignity Health’s commitment to the Chemical Footprint Project furthers our mission and vision of improving quality of life for our patients, staff, and the communities we serve.
Environmentally preferable purchasing and utilizing safer chemicals in health care is important because as a provider, we have an obligation to make the best choices on behalf of our patients. Regardless of a patient’s need to visit our facilities, we serve as their advocate. Everything from the tissues in the waiting room to the medical device that may be implanted into their body needs to be considered for safety, especially since many of these decisions are made on their behalf. One of our main priorities is to ensure they maintain their dignity while being a patient.
The same applies to our staff. We have an obligation to ensure that our staff are safe and also have an understanding of the products we use—how they’re made, what’s in them, and whether they can be recycled. We’re also invested in an evidence-based decision-making process.
When it comes to procurement, the Chemical Footprint Project fills a critical missing gap in sustainability data. The information collected by the Chemical Footprint Project assessment will enable us to include a company’s key sustainability metrics, specifically around chemicals, into the decision-making process.
The Chemical Footprint Project provides a standard metric with which we can engage our suppliers and measure their progress to safer chemicals in the products we purchase.
For our suppliers, the Chemical Footprint Project creates long-term value by enhancing brand reputation, increasing sales, promoting innovative products, increasing supply chain reliability, and avoiding the high costs of chemical crises.
Mary Ellen Leciejewski
Vice President of Corporate Responsibility
Dignity Health
From the 2016 CFP Report