- The new ecoscoring tool rates products according to all aspects of their ecodesign performance.
- Its elaboration and design was done with the framework defined in the ISO 14021 Standard
- The objective is to promote sanitary work spaces that are friendly to the environment.
Contributing to caring for the environment involves a series of actions that range from the individual to the collective. Not only have human beings paid attention to their contribution, but the health technology It has become a decisive factor in reducing the carbon footprint generated on the planet.
However, worldwide there was no business parameter that could measure with certainty the scope of the contributions to the environment that each organization makes. This is why Barco has developed an objective tool that rates its products according to all aspects of their eco-design performance, called echoscoring.
This tool has been validated under the framework defined in the ISO 14021 standard and the complete methodology was validated by experts from the multinational Ernst & Young (EY). Its use has allowed attention to be focused on four main domains that have the greatest impact on the environmental footprint of the product: energy, materials, packaging and logistics, and life cycle.
What benefits does it represent for the health sector?
In an interview with Jan Daem, Environmental Compliance Officer, and Stijn Vancoillie, R&D Manager for Medical Grade Monitor Systems at Barco, the benefits that exist in the four aspects within ecoscoring were revealed, which respond to this need.
1) Energy: This tool makes it possible to increase efficiency by transforming the electric power for the intended function of the product, including standby mode, normal mode, off mode. In health technologies, this resource allows specialists to have a reliability of use either for diagnostic reading or to guarantee operability in highly concentrated spaces such as operating rooms.
2) Materials: Another key aspect refers to the reduction in the use of (potentially) dangerous substances that are currently or in the future restricted. That is, improve the use of materials that are friendlier to the environment in terms of production or supply. This is a point that not only benefits the reduction of harmful materials for the planet, but also eliminates human exposure to dangerous substances.
3) Packaging and Logistics: An aspect such as the use of recycled materials provides the possibility of optimizing the packaging design to reduce the amount of material used and the logistics space. In turn, improve the potential for use and subsequent recycling of the packaging material.
4) Life cycle: As mentioned above, sanitary technology has a long life cycle, so improving the efficiency of the material from its structure prevents the product from being discarded early and reduces its impact at the end of its useful life. This allows the amount of non-recyclable materials to be reduced.