Every purchase a hospital makes, from medical supplies to building materials, carries both an environmental and a financial impact. The Sustainability Accelerator Tool (SAT) helps hospital leaders to transform purchasing decisions into opportunities to cut costs, lower environmental impact, and strengthen the long-term resilience of hospitals. 

The SAT highlights areas where sustainable choices also bring direct financial benefits. For example, switching from single-use to reusable or more durable supplies not only reduces waste but also lowers disposal costs and ensures longer-lasting stock. Hospitals can also work together through regional purchasing agreements, sharing contracts to cut delivery trips, save money, and reduce emissions. Groups of hospitals can exert great influence on the supply chain when they come together and explicitly require their vendors and suppliers to follow sustainability procurement criteria.  

Procurement is ideally a cross-functional domain, as hospitals can combine orders to reduce packaging and transportation costs while also getting better deals from suppliers. To that effect, SAT promotes integrated strategic planning across clinical, operational, and administrative teams, helping embed sustainability into everyday procurement decisions and practices. 

Building resilience through sustainable practices

Sustainable procurement offers benefits that go far beyond cost savings. Hospitals that embed sustainability into their supply chains are less dependent on unpredictable global markets. They also build trust with patients, staff, and communities by showing they take responsibility for their impact. At the same time, they stay aligned with international accreditation and sustainability requirements, ensuring they are prepared for the future. 

What sets the SAT apart is its practicality. It gives hospitals a clear picture of current performance and provides tailored recommendations based on their maturity level. A built-in performance dashboard allows leaders to track progress, report results, and directly connect sustainability initiatives with financial outcomes.

The SAT gives hospitals more than a tool, it offers a practical and structured pathway to act, plan next steps, and demonstrate results clearly. It empowers hospital leaders to uncover low-carbon procurement strategies that not only reduce environmental impact but also deliver concrete cost savings and increase hospitals’ resilience.

Discover more ideas that deliver savings from around the world 

The SAT provides an assessment framework that digitally empowers hospitals and healthcare leaders​ to drive sustainable, low-carbon, equitable, and resilient healthcare.