How hospitals can reduce their waste | Healthy Bottom Line podcast

In the past, hospital and healthcare leaders haven’t always listed reducing waste as one of their top priorities.

Alex Chapman, director of regulatory affairs at Stericycle, talks about ways hospitals can reduce waste in the latest episode of Healthy Bottom Line, a podcast from Chief Healthcare Executive.

But more hospitals and health systems have been looking at generating less waste and reducing their potential harms to the environment over the past few years. The Joint Commission has launched a voluntary certification program on sustainability.

Alex Chapman, director of regulatory affairs at Stericycle, talked about the ways hospitals can reduce waste in the latest episode of Healthy Bottom Line, a podcast from Chief Healthcare Executive®.

Many healthcare executives list other concerns as more pressing priorities for their organizations, Chapman acknowledges.

“Waste isn't ever number one. It's usually things like employee retention, patient population health, reducing impact to the bottom line. But waste is really inherent in all of those things,” she says.

• Read more: How hospitals can improve their sustainability

Hospitals and health systems face stubborn challenges in reducing waste because they typically utilize many supplies just once, but Chapman says organizations can take a different approach.

“There's the opportunity for reuse, and it really comes from the top down,” Chapman says.

Hospital leaders need to drive the push to reduce waste for organizations to find more reusable supplies.

“If you have leadership that's actively engaged in driving more sustainable outcomes … if they're more engaged and take the time to encourage their leaders to find alternatives, to really investigate and understand what reuse can do for their organization, from a fiscal perspective as well as environmental perspective, they'll find some substantial savings.”

While it’s essential for the top leaders in a hospital or health system to make sustainability a priority, Chapman says, “It’s got to be a full team sport.”

“It can't just be your C-suite or senior leaders,” she says. “The ground roots folks need to be involved as well.”

Hospital staff can get excited about sustainability programs, Chapman says. Indeed, four out of five clinicians (79%) said their hospitals should be engaged on climate change and they feel it’s tied to their overall mission, according to a 2024 survey by the Commonwealth Fund.

But Chapman says it’s important to focus staff on lasting efforts.

As she says, leaders should ask, “How do we strategically integrate this into our operating plans and take that passion from the front line to operationalize and execute and really have a bigger impact? Again, this all can tie into the bottom line, which I know is a priority for healthcare organizations.”

Chapman says it’s important for environmental programs to have a cost benefit so that they can be sustainable.

However, hospitals may find that it takes more than a compelling return on investment to build a successful sustainability program. Chapman says leaders should also link those efforts to the mission of improving health.

“If I'm working in a health system and my guidelines are, I'm here to help people get well, prevent people from getting sick, taking the actions that demonstrate a reduction to that risk in the environment that my patient population is in, is going to resonate,” she says. “So cost is absolutely a driver, but there also needs to be … that sense of culture and care about people and the environment as part of your health system as well.”

Hospitals should also engage members across the entire organization to find ways to reduce waste, including doctors, nurses and business departments, Chapman suggests. Purchasing departments need to think about what they’re buying. Infection control should be consulted to see if there are options for reusable material.

And health systems should look at all their processes to find ways to reduce wastes.

“Waste starts before the materials even get to your facility,” Chapman says.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Chapman also talks about ensuring pharmaceuticals don’t end up in waterways and mistakes to avoid in sustainability programs. She also offers advice for hospitals and health systems in developing strong environmental programs, including guidance for smaller organizations.

Check out the full conversation in the podcast below, and you can subscribe to Healthy Bottom Line wherever you get your podcasts.