Kimberly-Clark Health Care Announces Commitment to Reducing Medical Waste

Kimberly-Clark Health Care today announced achievements that highlight the company's substantial progress in its sustainability initiatives. From rewarding customers for their sustainability efforts to developing recyclable uses for medical packaging waste to partnering with top advocacy leaders in sustainability, these milestones all highlight the company's ongoing commitment to sustainability. As a champion in greening the medical manufacturing process and innovative product packaging, Kimberly-Clark diverts 6.5 million pounds of its manufacturing waste away from landfills each month, further supporting the overall goal of providing quality protection to its customers and to the environment, equally.

"Kimberly-Clark Health Care has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to greening its products and practices for the benefit of customers, communities and the overall environment," says Joanne Bauer, president of Kimberly-Clark Health Care. "In the past year, we've made great strides in our environmental efforts, researching innovative ways to reduce medical waste, acknowledging champions in the green healthcare movement and partnering with other leaders in healthcare sustainability. The results of our efforts are notable but we know there is work remaining, and we will continue our commitment in 2011 and beyond."

Following are some of the highlights from 2010:

- Kimberly-Clark Health Care has joined Practice Greenhealth, the nation's leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community that are committed to sustainable and eco-friendly practices. As a result of this membership, Kimberly-Clark Health Care will learn from industry-leading experts and consultants in the green healthcare community that can assist in the design and architecture of future sustainability projects.

- Kimberly-Clark Health Care developed a campaign called "Save the Daisies" to reward its customers for recycling its KIMGUARD Sterilization Wrap and for promoting details of its programs with other facilities. The four winning facilities each received an educational grant and a donation from Kimberly-Clark Health Care to the cause of their choice. The 2010 winners include: Summa Health System of Akron, Ohio; Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Ala.; St. Luke's Boise Medical Center, Boise, Idaho; and WVUH Ruby Memorial Hospital, Morgantown, W. Va.

- Kimberly-Clark Health Care worked with the Rhode Island School of Design's (RISD) Industrial Design Department to develop and identify sustainable new concepts and scalable designs for repurposing the Kimberly-Clark KIMGUARD Sterilization Wrap through a semester-long studio course, titled, "Kimberly-Clark Green Studio." The project resulted in a number of innovative ideas as to how best to repurpose the wrap without much altering. These concepts would significantly reduce hospital expenses and waste that would reduce the overall medical "carbon footprint" within a hospital. Although still in the investigative stages, Kimberly-Clark is researching several of the ideas stemming from the project, including disaster relief tent/shelters, children's toys and backpacks.