Kaiser Permanente to use ‘green’ vendor scorecard

The nonprofit Kaiser Permanente purchases $1 billion in medical products each year. The HMO announced on May 4 it now requires vendors to disclose environmental data to help it select which companies it will buy from, using a new environmental scorecard program.

Suppliers will have to report chemical content, recycled content, packaging and whether an item is single- or multi-use. A product’s overall environmental score will be one of six factors considered in selecting product vendors. The other factors are quality or clinical performance, assurance of supply, cost, service and innovation, with clinical performance being the most important factor, according to Robert Gotto, executive director for procurement and supply.

While the scorecard is new, Kaiser already has granted a $100 million, five-year contract to a supplier of rigid endoscopes because of a progressive sterilization process it uses that reduces chemical use and chemical exposure for hospital workers.