 (BusinessWire) The prestigious "Champions for Change" award recognizes SharpSafety for improvements in its own environmental performance at its sharps container manufacturing facility in Illinois and for industry leadership in environmentally responsible healthcare.
Covidien Wins National Award for Environmental Achievement
Press Release
BusinessWire
NOVEMBER 28, 2007MANSFIELD, Mass.The SharpSafety Division of Covidien Ltd. (NYSE: COV, BSX: COV) recently was honored by Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) with its 2007 Champions for Change award. This prestigious award recognizes SharpSafety for improvements in its own environmental performance at its sharps container manufacturing facility in Illinois and for industry leadership in environmentally responsible healthcare.
"The SharpSafety Division is at the forefront of a fundamental shift in the healthcare industry," said H2E Executive Director Laura Brannen. "By introducing healthier and more responsible products and practices, SharpSafety is helping healthcare facilities everywhere to operate in ways that protect the health of patients, workers, communities and the environment. This is a revolution that benefits everyone."
"Covidien is honored that SharpSafety has received the H2E Champions for Change award," said Jeff Hunt, President of the Covidien Patient Care & Safety Products Global Business Unit. "Environmental stewardship is an important element of our corporate mission. We strive to manufacture our products in the most environmentally sound manner possible; doing so, we believe, makes healthcare delivery safer and healthier for patients, staff and the world we share. Covidien cares passionately for the environment, while providing the safest and highest quality products to our customers."
Jointly founded by the American Hospital Association, the Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care Without Harm and the American Nurses Association, H2E is an independent, not-for-profit organization focused on improving healthcare's environmental performance. H2E envisions a healthcare system committed to reduced waste volume and toxicity, efficient energy and water use, clean air, safe work practices and safe buildings.
H2E has acknowledged outstanding contributions to the creation of a truly healthy healthcare system since 2002, and its Environmental Excellence awards are the industry's premier environmental honors.
Covidien's SharpSafety facility, located in Crystal Lake, IL, has taken significant steps to demonstrate sustainable environmental responsibility for its sharps disposal containers, while seeking to maintain a high level of safety and clinical value for its customers:
-- Recycling Programs - Scrap materials and containers that do not make it into the manufacturing line are reground and reused. Last year, the facility saved and reused 1.8 million pounds of materials that otherwise would have been shipped to landfills.
-- Reclaim Program - Unused diaper materials are purchased from other Covidien plants and incorporated into the manufacturing of the sharps container product line. The facility has reclaimed 27 tons of material that otherwise would have been shipped to landfills.
-- Closed Loop Water and Oil System - The system reduces the amount of water used to cool polypropylene in container manufacturing. The only water lost is through evaporation. The system has the capability to conserve 7.3 billion gallons of water and 6,935 gallons of oil.
-- Product Weight Reduction - The new manufacturing process reduces product weight by 3-5%, saving raw materials and space in landfills and reducing disposal costs to customers.
-- This process is expected to save approximately 722,000 pounds of polypropylene resin annually.
-- All SharpSafety containers continue to meet the regulatory standards for Class 2 medical devices.
-- Facility Lighting Upgrade -The plant utilizes more efficient and environmentally friendly fluorescent lighting fixtures. These new fixtures reduce lighting-related energy consumption by 50% and eliminate the use of bulbs containing elements of mercury.
ABOUT HOSPITALS FOR A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
The leading national force in helping hospitals with environmental improvement, H2E provides practical solutions through a website packed with resources, regular teleconferences offering expert help for environmental challenges, and a listserv bringing colleagues across the country together to share best practices and strategies for pollution prevention. At the 2007 H2E Environmental Excellence Summit in Minneapolis, H2E honored nearly 130 organizations for outstanding work through its annual awards program. To learn more, visit www.h2e.org.
ABOUT COVIDIEN
Covidien is a leading global healthcare products company that creates innovative medical solutions for better patient outcomes and delivers value through clinical leadership and excellence. Covidien manufactures, distributes and services a diverse range of industry-leading product lines, including Surgical Devices, Energy-based Devices, Respiratory and Monitoring Solutions, Patient Care and Safety Products, Imaging Solutions, Pharmaceutical Products, Medical Supplies and Retail Products. With 2006 revenue of nearly $10 billion, Covidien has more than 43,000 employees worldwide in 57 countries, and its products are sold in over 130 countries. Please visit www.covidien.com to learn more about our business.
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