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Think green – Sustainable procurement in healthcare

In the face of climate change, sustainability is becoming increasingly important. It’s a core issue for procurement in the 21st century, alongside digitisation. To embrace the change towards more sustainability, companies also need a mindset shift. What does this mean for procurement managers, and what does sustainable procurement look like when put into practice? Our sustainability expert Jan Bussiek answered these questions at two online events in late 2021.

ZUKE Green Health Conference

On 23 and 24 November 2021, the ZUKE Green Health Conference brought together procurement and sustainability managers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Over 300 attendees from the health sector followed the online conference on their screens and swapped ideas during interactive networking tables and panel discussions.  

Procurement plays a major role in managing a healthcare facility sustainably, considering that purchasing can impact up to two thirds of the emissions generated in a hospital. In his talk ‘Sustainable Choice – How Sustainable Procurement Works’, presented at the ZUKE Green Health Conference, Jan Bussiek, Head of Marketplaces, explained how to make supply chains more sustainable. “We launched the Sustainable Choice initiative to enable companies to cover their indirect spend needs sustainably – and to do so quickly and easily,” says Jan Bussiek.

“I really hope I was able to generate an impulse for companies to act now rather than keep on waiting. My wish is that numerous attendees were inspired by the ZUKE Green Health Conference to the point that they introduced sustainable procurement routines the very next day,” says Jan Bussiek. In the run-up to the event, he published a blog post about sustainability and met with ZUKE Green Conference organiser Stefan Krojer for a video interview:

Jan Bussiek’s interview on Sustainable Choice

Only available in German

During the two-day event, the attendees had the opportunity to take part in an online survey. The most interesting results: in response to the question “What do you need to become more sustainable?” 44 % of respondents answered “data”. One third each replied, “a lack of budgets and political guidelines.” Unsurprisingly, “cost pressure and politics” were mentioned most frequently when asked about the biggest barriers to more sustainable management and purchasing in the clinic. Because of the vast response, a second edition of the ZUKE Green Health Conference is already being planned.

BME Sustainability Summit

From 27 to 29 October 2021, the digital BME Sustainability Summit supported purchasing managers on their path to making their procurement more sustainable. Informing, learning and networking were at the top of the agenda. In lectures, round tables and workshops, field experts presented new developments and solutions. In his lecture, Jan Bussiek explained what sustainable purchasing actually means, using illustrative examples and a live demo. You can watch the lecture recording here:

Jan Bussiek’s “Sustainable Choice – How Sustainable Procurement Works”

Only available in German

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