Waste Reduction

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (Life Cycle Cost Analysis)

The Environmental Protection Agency’s “Environmentally Preferable Purchasing” initiative encourages organizations to purchase goods that have a lesser environmental impact than those of similar use or value. The environmental impact of goods can result from manufacturing, transportation or disposal processes.

To offset the amount of waste that we generate, Montefiore assesses its current purchasing policies to identify those with the greatest positive environmental impact.

Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) is a necessary part of any hospital's waste stream. While essential in order to maintain sanitary and compliant operations, the disposal of RMW is greenhouse gas intensive. At Montefiore, we have worked hard to reduce the amount of RMH generated at each of our campuses. To date, we have reduced RMW production by 5.5 percent since 2015.

Our procurement goals include:

• Reducing the amount of packing materials used
• Purchasing items made with recycled content
• Purchasing only EnergyStar rated appliances
• A comprehensive purchasing plan that includes or requires the life cycle analysis of all purchases, which helps Montefiore reduce its overall environmental footprint.