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Tegra Medical achieves ISO 14001 Environmental Management Certification

NEWS RELEASE: Tegra Medical Achieves ISO 14001 Environmental Management Certification

The medical device manufacturer commits to reducing its environmental impact

Tegra Medical, a leading contract manufacturer of medical devices and a member of SFS, which is headquartered in Heerbrugg Switzerland, today announced it has achieved ISO 14001 certification in all four of its locations in the Americas.

ISO 14001 certification, the world’s most widely recognized standard for Environmental Management Systems, is granted to companies that identify and manage aspects of their business to reduce their environmental impact. Certification is established with a baseline, which is determined after an extensive audit of a company’s procedures.

The audit is followed by a plan for improvement in selected areas. Some of Tegra Medical’s areas upon which to focus improvement include material reuse, waste reduction, composting, and evaluating equipment for a…

Exploring the potential of Web3-based carbon tracking in pharma

[Alexander/Adobe Stock]

Carbon tracking is a challenge in many industries, including the pharma sector. Companies are looking to manage their carbon emissions more effectively and meet their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, noted Maxence Cacheux, Zblocks co-founder and chief revenue officer. “They need to measure their internal carbon emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions from the energy they use (Scope 2) and indirect emissions from their suppliers (Scope 3),” he noted. Although adoption is early, Zblocks executives believe there is a clear need for Web3-based carbon tracking in pharma. “The challenge that blockchain can solve is is the lack of transparency and trust in carbon accounting and trading systems,” Cacheux said. “There are gaps in reporting. Additionally, all the data you’re collecting from multiple sources can be potentially tampered, and there is no auditability.” Web3-ba…

The pros and cons of membrane-based WFI generation and distillation for biopharma

Modern ambient water for injection (AWFI) generation system [Image courtesy of CRB]

The pharma industry is in the process of moving toward ambient water for injection (WFI).

Despite changes to regulations almost five years ago that allowed for alternative methods of generating WFI, the industry has been slow to fully embrace the shift away from traditional distillation despite the significant advantages of membrane-based WFI generation.

For companies with legacy distillation systems, the investment in new equipment for ambient WFI can be significant. Given its history, many pharmaceutical companies are familiar with the traditional distillation method.

In this article, industry experts from CRB, Chris Carlson and Jarrod Wrampe, describe the considerations to keep in mind when choosing between membrane-based WFI and traditional distillation for pharma applications.

Pro for membrane-based WFI …

Henry Schein launches Practice Green sustainable products initiative

Citing the growing threat of climate change, Henry Schein (Nasdaq:HSIC) is launching an environmental sustainability initiative called Practice Green.

Practice Green will identify medical and dental products that are reusable, recyclable, biodegradable, made from recycled materials or from a sustainable source.

Medical device developers and their customers are increasingly focusing on sustainability. Efforts range from reducing waste in manufacturing to minimizing product packaging. They’re also looking for ways to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

HOW TO: Design a sustainable medical device

Henry Schein selected the products based on marketing information provided by its supplier partners. Specific product offerings are available through local Henry Schein representatives.

More about Henry Schein’s Practice Green

Henry Schein International Distr…

‘Henry Schein launches Practice Green sustainable products initiative’

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Citing the growing threat of climate change, Henry Schein (Nasdaq:HSIC) is launching an environmental sustainability initiative called Practice Green.

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Practice Green will identify medical and dental products that are reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable. Are the products made from recycled materials or come from a sustainable source?

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Medical device developers and their customers are increasingly focusing on sustainability. Efforts range from reducing waste in manufacturing to minimizing product packaging. They’re also looking for ways to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

\n

HOW TO: Design a sustainable medical device

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Henry Schein selected the products based on marketing information provided by its supplier partners. Specific product offerings are available through local Henry Schein representatives.

\nMore about Henry Schein’s Practice Green\n

Cardinal Health expands single-use device reprocessing facility

Cardinal Health’s Sustainable Technologies facility in Riverview, Florida [Photo courtesy of Cardinal Health]

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) recently opened its expanded Sustainable Technologies facility in Riverview, Florida.

The facility is now twice as large as before, at 100,000 square feet, said Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health.

The medical device manufacturer and distributor launched Sustainable Technologies in 2015 to collect, reprocess and recycle single-use devices in the U.S. Sustainable Technologies now works with more than 3,000 U.S. hospitals and ambulatory service centers, Cardinal Health said.

The FDA allows single-use devices to be used more than once if reprocessors can show the reprocessed devices are substantially equivalent to the original device. Many single-use devices can be recycled when they can not be reprocessed.

NEED TO KNOW: Ramping up manufacturing for sing…

Nelipak Healthcare Packaging receives ISCC Plus certification

Nelipak today announced that two of its North American facilities have received International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus certification.

The packaging manufacturer created a mass-balance model for sustainable packaging at the facilities — in Phoenix, Arizona and Whitehall, Pennsylvania — said Nic Hunt, senior director and head of global sustainability at Nelipak.

“Increasing the use of sustainable packaging solutions is a top priority for many of our customers,” Hunt said in a news release. “Working with our supply chain partners, Nelipak has collaborated to increase the use of recycled content.”

Nelipak expects to expand the mass-balance model to its other sites across North America and Europe.

ISCC Plus is a globally recognized third-party certification system for tracking recycled and bio-based materials through the supply chain, Nelipak said.

“This third-party validation is a critical step to developi…

Pharma and biotech companies set their sites on sustainability

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Sustainability continues to be a hot topic, and the pharmaceutical industry faces pressure to reduce its carbon footprint. As a result, a growing number of pharma companies are stepping up sustainability efforts.

In a growing number of locations, pharma companies are seeing drivers in the regulatory environment to force them to prioritize sustainability. “We’re seeing [pressure] from both regulatory authorities having jurisdiction at the federal, state and local level of different jurisdictions,” said Jeff Wegner, a mechanical engineer at CRB.

A growing number of jurisdictions on the East Coast and West Coast are restricting or banning the use of, for instance, natural gas.

While such restrictions are not yet pervasive, the trend is building, said Wegner, who was among the authors of the Horizons: Life Sciences Report.

Another dimensi…