Launch of the DM Durable Index!
On April 03, at the SNITEM CSR congress, the steering team unveiled the methodology of the Index DM Durable, an original tool co-constructed by DM manufacturers and C2DS. Yannick NEUDER, French Minister of Health, stressed the importance of this Index in guiding purchasing towards more sustainable choices.
The Sustainable DM Index: a pragmatic and innovative tool for hospital buyers
Faced with environmental and social challenges, the healthcare sector has launched a new tool to promote responsible decision-making: the Index Dispositif Médical Durable (IDMD). Designed for hospital buyers, whether public or private, this free index will enable them to evaluate medical devices according to corporate social responsibility (CSR) criteria.
Developed jointly by the Comité pour le développement durable en santé(C2DS) and the Syndicat national de l'industrie des technologies médicales(SNITEM), the IDMD is based on a rigorous methodology defined in an Afnor Specification, guaranteeing transparency and reliability.
A decision-making tool based on CSR criteria
The IDMD is based on an evaluation grid comprising some thirty discriminating CSR criteria. It aims to help hospital buyers compare medical devices and select those that best meet sustainability requirements. This approach is based on a consensus between manufacturers and buyers, meeting an immediate operational need.
An assessment of six key vulnerabilities
The index covers six major environmental and social themes:
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Water consumption
- Waste production and management
- Bioaccumulation and toxicity
- Health, safety and working conditions
- Inclusion and diversity
Companies are invited to self-assess using the methodology approved by AFNOR. They are asked to give themselves a score out of 20 in these six areas. Each item, with a coefficient of 1, provides an overall score, also out of 20.
A major step towards more responsible hospital purchasing
Thanks to this index, purchasers finally havean environmental and social rating system for medical devices, which will make it easier to factor CSR criteria into contracts. The IDMD is thus an essential lever for accelerating the ecological and social transition of the medical sector, by encouraging manufacturers to improve the impact of their products. A further step towards more sustainable healthcare.