NewGen Surgical joins Biden Administration pledge to decarbonize health care sector, make facilities resilient to climate change
NewGen Surgical’s leadership recognized by Administration officials at COP27
San Rafael, California, November 10, 2022 – NewGen Surgical was celebrated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) on November 10, 2022, for pledging ongoing action to decarbonize the health care sector and make health care facilities more resilient to the effects of climate change. NewGen Surgical has formally committed to pursuing the Biden administration’s climate goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
A September 2021 consensus statement from more than 200 medical journals named climate change the number one threat to global public health. It exposes millions of people in the United States to harm every year—with disproportionate impacts on communities that are often already the victims of longstanding discrimination. These threats to public health include increases in extreme heat waves, wildfires, flooding, vector-borne diseases, and other factors that worsen chronic health conditions. The healthcare sector also contributes to climate change, accounting for approximately 8.5 percent of U.S. domestic emissions.
The HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, developed the White House/HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge to help focus industry response to climate challenges. In addition to reducing their carbon footprint, signatories also commit to producing detailed plans to prepare their facilities for both chronic and acute catastrophic climate impacts.
Over one hundred health companies in the U.S. have signed the White House/HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge, including organizations representing 837 hospitals as well as leading health centers, suppliers, insurance companies, group purchasing organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and more. Federal systems like the Indian Health Service (IHS), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and Military Health System (MHS) are working together to meet similar goals to those these private sector organizations have embraced. Combined, over 1,080 federal and private sector hospitals have made such commitments, representing over 15 percent of U.S. hospitals.
“HHS returns this year to COP27 to report great progress,” said ADM Rachel Levine, the Assistant Secretary for Health. “Through the efforts of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity and several other HHS agencies, we have made significant strides in introducing resources and supports to help communities and care providers accelerate their work to reduce harmful emissions and increase climate resilience in the health sector.”
“HHS’s pledge backed by the White House and the Biden administration to mobilize the healthcare sector to reduce emissions is a motivator for the industry to work together and change what can be and must. NewGen Surgical was founded because of our growing concern about climate change and environmental pollution, recognizing that the healthcare sector is one of the largest contributors to single-use plastic waste and carbon emissions,” said Kimberlee Luedee-Chase, Co-founder and CMO at NewGen Surgical, “This pledge provides signatories a goal to fulfill sustainability commitments industry-wide while making a greater impact- healthier communities, patients and planet.”
NewGen Surgical is one of the few companies/suppliers offering low-carbon product solutions for healthcare signatories to achieve their emissions commitments to reach net-zero goals. To date, NewGen Surgical has eliminated 167,000 kg CO2e with upcycled plant-based products that replace fossil fuel/carbon-intensive single-use plastic products pervasive in healthcare, surgery, and packaging. Plastic is set to outpace coal and become a driver of climate change by 2030.
“One of our healthcare system customers changed just one small product used in nearly every surgery and eliminated almost 20 tons of plastic and associated Scope 3 CO2e. With more than 6,000 healthcare systems across the United States, imagine the possibilities and the power of one small product change having a big impact on these critical environmental goals. Healthier healthcare products must be a part of the solution if we are to take swift action and start having a meaningful impact today,” added Kimberlee Luedee-Chase, Co-founder of NewGen Surgical.
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White House Briefing here
About NewGen Surgical Inc.
NewGen Surgical, Inc. develops and manufactures sustainably designed plant-based, single-use medical devices and products. The company’s mission is to offer clinically effective product solutions to measurably reduce plastic and Scope 3 CO2 emissions. NewGen Surgical products are California Prop 65 compliant, free of intentionally added BPA or BPA-derived plastics, mercury, phthalates, PFAs, and PVC. In addition, they are the first medical products to be USDA BioPreferred Certified. NewGen Surgical offers a ring basin for the OR that is the first and only medical product to achieve Greenscreen certification with the CPA. The company currently offers 6 product lines, available directly or through major national distributors and internationally with approved CE marks.
Founded in 2012 in the San Francisco Bay Area, NewGen Surgical was commended in the 2015 Circular Economy Awards of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum and was the recipient of the California Product Stewardship Council 2018 Green Arrow Award for circular economy innovation. NewGen Surgical is a member of the American Sustainable Business Council, a supporter of Practice Greenhealth, and a recipient of the California Product Stewardship Council 2018 Green Arrow Award for circular economy innovation.
About the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity
The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) plays a vital role in protecting the nation’s health from climate change-related risks, including extreme heat, natural disasters, vector-borne diseases, and more. Among the supports OCCHE provides for health sector companies that wish to reduce their environmental impact and become more resilient to the effects of climate change are a webinar series and associated compendium of federal resources to support emissions reduction and resilience. In addition, OCCHE also publishes a regular Climate and Health Outlook, an effort to inform health professionals and the public on how our health may be affected in the coming month(s) by climate events and provide resources to take proactive action.
