Article

Trend Your Business Toward Sustainability With Environmentally Preferred Sourcing Programs

December 7, 2022

As many modern businesses know, there’s a “green market revolution” taking place. Forrester says this shift promotes investing in and embracing sustainable solutions to combat climate change.

“This revolution gives businesses the opportunity to offer new environmentally sustainable products and services for everything from how we make products, plug in, finance and protect assets to how we get goods and ourselves around and even what we eat,” according to Forrester.

Meanwhile, Gartner’s CEO and Senior Business Executive Survey found that in 2022, environmental sustainability became a top-10 business priority for the first time ever.

Organizations aiming to improve their sustainability efforts can shift to products, services and processes that reduce their environmental impact. Provista has a solution that members can put into practice today to ensure they’re procuring environmentally friendly products.

Knowing which products are environmentally friendly can be difficult or time consuming for individual organizations to determine. The Provista Environmentally Preferred Sourcing (EPS) Program can help. It allows members to meet their business goals while also positively impacting the environment.

BENEFITS OF THE ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERRED SOURCING PROGRAM

The Provista program provides a framework for members to implement and maintain environmentally preferred purchasing that supports their overall sustainability objectives. With Provista, members can access the broadest, most cost-effective environmentally preferred product portfolio in the industry.
Provista’s portfolio offers more than:

  • 570 contracts
  • 535,000 products
  • 3.4 million EPS attribute data points

Environmentally preferred attribute information is available for members to download through Provista’s analytical tools. Provista also offers members an EPS analysis based on their purchases. The insights are available through an environmentally preferred purchasing (EPP) dashboard.

ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERRED ATTRIBUTES

To assist members with environmentally preferred purchasing, Provista has established 23 standard attributes for:

  • Food
  • Food service disposables
  • Chemicals
  • Equipment
  • Other relevant products

Members can utilize attribution data for a product category to gain new insights and make more informed buying decisions. The attributes are designed to help members make purchases that reduce the harmful effects on the environment and human health, while maintaining product quality and affordability.

The attributes can be used with Provista’s analytical tools, such as DataLynx and the EPP dashboard, to help members determine their EPP spend. With the analytics, members can improve sustainability through their buying behaviors, identify opportunities to change their purchasing habits, and switch to cleaner and safer products.

“Provista is asking its members and suppliers to adopt the 23 standard attributes in their bidding processes in an effort to move closer to a single industry standard.”

BECOMING AN EPS DESIGNATED SUPPLIER

On the supplier side, Provista asks vendors to provide environmentally preferred attribute data at the SKU-level for their products. Provista shares this information with members to help them choose products supportive of their EPP objectives.

Provista’s national bid process for competitive contracts includes language about attribute collection. In addition, suppliers are encouraged to proactively provide environmentally preferred attributes for new products added to their contract portfolio.
Companies that meet specific requirements and safety standards can be identified as an “EPS Designated Supplier” for applicable contracts. These requirements include:

  • Providing a list of the supplier’s products that meet predefined environmentally preferred criteria
  • Offering proof of third-party certification for environmental standards or scientific documentation to verify the product or service has no adverse effect on human and environmental health
  • Reporting EPS spend separately from conventional spend through Provista financial reporting channels

A supplier that meets all of these criteria can use the Provista “Environmentally Preferred Award Supplier” logo in their promotional materials.

DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

Provista is encouraging the healthcare industry, including non-acute providers, to standardize to the common list of 23 attributes. Standardization can help accelerate the move to environmentally friendly products and services.

For instance, using the same attribute language improves the efficiency and accuracy of data reporting and streamlines the reconciliation process for all stakeholders. That’s why Provista is asking its members and suppliers to adopt the standard attributes in their bidding processes.

The attributes, and the EPS Program as a whole, can support members who want to achieve a more sustainable and environmentally friendly business. Members can talk to their Provista representative to find out more information.

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