2024 Sustainability Stakeholder Study - Healthcare

In 2024, Plastics Ingenuity interviewed a share of the stakeholders in the healthcare packaging sector. These organizations include medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, biotech products, and life science applications.

Drivers of Change

The healthcare industry recognizes the interconnectedness of human well-being and the health of our planet. ¹ “A healthy planet is needed for healthy people,” stated a stakeholder. Recognizing the relationship between human and environmental health encourages sustainable practices within the healthcare industry, including waste reduction, energy efficiency, and the use of sustainable materials. Healthcare organizations prioritize preventing diseases linked to environmental factors, such as air and water pollution, by advancing solutions that promote clean air, safe drinking water, and climate resilience.

Cost savings associated with sustainability programs are a key driver. Healthcare facilities are adopting waste reduction and recycling programs to minimize disposal costs. The emergence of recycling in these settings is creating the need for recyclable packaging. From the MDM perspective, reducing packaging materials can lead to cost savings, especially in an industry where overengineering packaging to eliminate risk is common practice.

Legislation plays a crucial role in driving change, with many stakeholders pointing to the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) ² as a key influence on their sustainability efforts. Set to be legally adopted by the end of 2024, the PPWR aims to minimize packaging waste and encourage a circular economy. Product-sensitive products like medical devices and pharmaceuticals are exempt from the PPWR recycling and post-consumer recycle (PCR) requirements for now, but secondary packaging items are not exempt. The clause will be reevaluated in 2035 to determine inclusion of contact sensitive packaging.

Sustainability Goal Analysis

Table 1. Sustainability goals shared by healthcare organizations.

Extracting the sustainability goals shared by healthcare organizations provides valuable insights, as indicated in Table 1 and Figure 1.

Healthcare facilities are adopting waste reduction and recycling programs to minimize disposal costs. (Credit: Plastic Ingenuity)

Minimize Plastic Material Usage. The top sustainable packaging goal identified in our study of healthcare organizations was to “Minimize Plastic Material Usage.” All the organizations we interviewed cited this goal as an objective they are working toward, and 75 percent listed it as a top pick. Reducing material is not only beneficial for the environmental impact of packaging, but it also lowers packaging component costs. Consumer product groups (CPGs) have been reducing packaging weight for decades, ³ but this concept is relatively new for healthcare organizations accustomed to over-designing packaging to eradicate risk. The confluence of sustainability benefits and cost-saving potential leads to this goal becoming a top priority in healthcare. “We can create real value for the company through environmental sustainability,” stated a packaging leader in the space.

All healthcare stakeholders listed “make packaging from recyclable materials” as a goal at their company. (Credit: Plastic Ingenuity)

Make Packaging from Recyclable Materials. All healthcare stakeholders listed “Make Packaging from Recyclable Materials” as a goal their company is working towards, though none listed it as a top pick. Although recycling in healthcare facilities is currently limited, ⁴ stakeholders are projecting rapid growth and are adopting packaging design accordingly. A common area of interest is transitioning sterile barrier trays from PETG to APET. This transition benefits recycling and could result in cost savings for packaging components. “We are now designing our packaging with circularity in mind,” shared a packaging engineer.

Product Carbon Footprints. Creating “Product Carbon Footprints” was a goal cited by 75 percent of the healthcare organizations we interviewed. None listed it as a top pick. Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) quantify the embodied GHG emissions of an article. ⁵ They enable the creation of decarbonization plans at the packaging component level. “We want our suppliers to create PCFs and then come to us with improvement opportunities to decrease the carbon footprint,” shared a sustainability leader.

Maximize PCR Content. Half of the healthcare stakeholders we interviewed cited “Maximize PCR Content” as a goal. None listed it as a top pick. Regulatory requirements, such as ISO 11607, limit the ability to use PCR materials in certain healthcare applications, like Sterile Barrier Systems (SBS). ⁶ For these applications, healthcare companies are exploring adding PCR through certified mass balance systems, like ISCC PLUS. ⁷ Secondary and tertiary packaging may have more opportunities to use mechanically recycled PCR since the regulatory requirements are less stringent. “Using recycled materials allows us to reduce our virgin material consumption and reduce our carbon footprint significantly,” a stakeholder said.

The top sustainable packaging goal identified in the study was to “minimize plastic material usage.” (Credit: Plastic Ingenuity)

Closed Loop Recycling. Of the healthcare stakeholders we interviewed, 25 percent cited “Closed Loop Recycling” as a sustainability goal they are working toward, and the same number listed it as a top pick. Commonly called a “take-back program,” these recycling solutions support a circular economy by repurposing materials recovered from their packaging. They focus on applications that currently lack access to residential recycling pathways, like trays for assembling medical devices. ⁸ “Establishing a take-back program allows us to reuse the materials in our work-inprocess (WIP) trays,” shared a packaging engineer. These programs often involve complex logistics, and stakeholders remain conscious of the potential for increased GHG emissions from additional transportation.

Minimize GHG Emissions. “Minimize GHG Emissions” was a sustainability goal being worked toward by 25 percent of the healthcare stakeholders we interviewed, and the same number listed it as a top pick. Given the notion that human health is directly related to climate health, ⁹ healthcare organizations are scrutinizing the impact of their products and packaging on the climate. These organizations are making progress on their Scope 1 and 2 emissions and are starting to focus more resources on decarbonizing their supply chains. “Decarbonization is a shared opportunity,” stated a sustainability leader.

Stakeholders cited using sustainable materials as a sustainability goal they are working toward. (Credit: Plastic Ingenuity)

Use Sustainable Materials. Similarly, 25 percent of the healthcare stakeholders we interviewed cited “Use Sustainable Materials” as a sustainability goal they are working toward, and the same number listed it as a top pick. “Sustainable materials” is a generic term with room for interpretation. Stakeholders citing this as a goal have less mature sustainability practices in place for packaging. When asked further about what makes a material sustainable, stakeholders cited bio-based, compostable, and recyclable materials as options but stated no preference. “If there is an innovative material, we want to know about it,” noted a packaging engineer.

Eliminate Materials of Concern. Though none listed it as a top pick, 25 percent of the healthcare stakeholders we interviewed cited “Eliminate Materials of Concern” as a sustainability goal they are working toward. Healthcare companies are actively working to reduce the use of materials of concern in their packaging to ensure product safety. This includes phasing out materials like PVC, phthalates, PFAS, and certain heavy metals that may pose environmental or health risks. ¹⁰ Recycled materials, especially from mechanical recycling methods, receive increased scrutiny by healthcare companies, given the potential to add risk from a “materials of harm” perspective. “A quality issue could create significant damage, so we must be cautious,” shared a packaging leader.

2024 healthcare study results from Plastic Ingenuity’s sustainability stakeholder study.

Bio-Based Material. Using “Bio-Based Material” was cited by 25 percent of the healthcare stakeholders we interviewed as a sustainability goal they are working toward, though none listed it as a top pick. Conventional polymers, like PP and PE, made from renewable sources are the focus of stakeholders, rather than biodegradable options that are unlikely to provide the protective performance needed. “The bio-based options we have explored have not held up to sterilization,” noted a packaging engineer.

Supplier SBTi Commitment. Lastly, 25 percent of the healthcare stakeholders we interviewed cited “Supplier SBTi Commitment” as a sustainability goal they are working toward. None listed it as a top pick. Stakeholders stated that having suppliers commit to SBTi ¹¹ is a way to catalyze the decarbonization of their supply chains. “65 percent of our suppliers by spend will be committed to SBTi by the end of 2025,” shared a sustainability leader.

This article is reprinted with permission from Plastic Ingenuity’s 2025 Thermoform Circularity Report. The full report is available here .