Sustainable healthcare for real
What is an LCA and why do most procurements miss the environmental impact of transport? Learn how to set requirements that reduce both emissions and costs.
Environmental arguments without verifiable evidence—so-called greenwashing—have become a growing challenge in public procurement. Purchasing a mattress advertised as "eco-friendly" that, due to poor material quality and accelerated material fatigue, must be discarded after only a few years is an unsustainable strategy. Short lifespans increase the total amount of waste and generate a significantly higher environmental impact over time due to frequent replacement purchases.
Real and measurable sustainability requires a transparent, holistic perspective based on a scientific life cycle assessment (LCA). This means that a product's total environmental impact must be evaluated at every stage: from the chemical composition of raw materials and production technology to the actual technical lifespan and ongoing logistics flows to and from healthcare facilities.
It is a widespread problem that procurement specifications are sub-optimized through an overly narrow focus on isolated environmental aspects—such as an organically certified surface layer—while the product's actual environmental impact is overlooked. Rigorous life cycle assessments (LCA) clearly demonstrate that completely different and more comprehensive factors account for the dominant share of a mattress system's total carbon footprint over its lifetime:
Conclusion for procurers: An ecological surface layer has a signaling value, but if the mattress core wears out prematurely so that the entire product must be discarded, the net effect on the environment becomes negative. True sustainability is achieved only when the material's technical lifespan is maximized and the entire life cycle is optimized.
As a pioneer in the environmental assessment of medical technology products, Järven Health Care initiated comprehensive, independent life cycle analyses (LCAs) for its mattress systems early on. The results unequivocally established that the intrinsic material quality and chemical choices in the foam core determine the product's actual carbon footprint.
A concrete example of this design philosophy is the foam material Waterlily. In independent environmental reviews, the material demonstrated leading performance across all seven standardised environmental indicators. The success is based on three key technical factors:
Many associate removable covers with good hygiene, but for the environment, they are a heavy burden. Machine washing a mattress cover just once a month consumes approximately 1.1 kg of detergent and 444 litres of hot water per year [6].
Mattresses with a fully welded Lentex outer layer are cleaned and disinfected directly on-site by mechanical wiping.
Doubling a product's real lifespan is the single most effective way to halve its waste volume over time. To verify this mechanical durability, the mattresses undergo rigorous fatigue testing at RISE, where they are subjected to a total of 130,000 impacts.
This corresponds to the criteria for ”exceptionally high demands” according to the Swedish standard SS 876 00 11. Thanks to this high material quality, a Waterlily mattress with an intact and undamaged surface layer has an expected service life of over eight years.
For the healthcare sector, this endurance means a tangible operational and investment saving, while simultaneously generating a direct and measurable environmental and climate benefit.
”The ”just-in-time" system has long been the norm within healthcare. But when supply chains falter or transport is delayed, the vulnerability is exposed – the department suddenly finds itself without critical equipment. Pick'n'Go reverses the logic: by moving the warehouse directly to your operations, waiting times are eliminated, transport is minimised, and costs are reduced.
Traditional mattress rental often involves a lorry making an emergency run out with individual mattresses when the need arises.
Three turns per mattress A single rental period often requires up to three transports (Central warehouse ➡️ Hospital ➡️ Laundry ➡️ Central warehouse).
30 million for a mattress If the warehouse is five miles away, this means 30 miles of truck driving to meet a single patient's needs.
Cost of empty cars In fact, up to a third of traditional rental costs often consist of pure transport costs.
With Pick'n'Go, a customised buffer stock is established directly in your department or hospital. This fundamentally changes the conditions:
Immediate patient safety: The mattress is available the moment the patient is admitted. No waiting time, no administrative stress.
Planned logistics over urgent deliveries Refills and servicing are carried out via scheduled routes with fully loaded vehicles instead of urgent single transports.
Verified environmental impact This optimisation of the logistics flow is estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport by up to 95 %.
This is modern and sustainable material supply in practice. It increases patient preparedness, lowers healthcare costs, and saves the environment.
Sustainability extends far beyond carbon emissions – it is very much about the indoor environment and the patient's immediate safety. Conventional textiles are often post-treated with added, chemical flame retardants to meet current fire regulations. The risk with these additives is that the chemicals are gradually released and spread into the ecosystem via mechanical wear and washing, or in the worst case, expose the patient during their care.
By consistently choosing functional textiles such as Trevira CS, these chemical risks are completely eliminated. The flame resistance is integrated directly at a molecular level in the fibre itself, fundamentally changing the conditions:
Make demands that make a measurable difference – for both the business's finances and the planet's future.
Require verified life cycle assessment (LCA) Don't settle for vague environmental promises or ”green” product sheets. Demand documented lifecycle analyses. If a supplier has not conducted an independent LCA for their product, they lack the actual evidence required to assess its real climate impact.
Include the running logistics flows: How will the mattresses be transported during the contract period? Evaluate the entire chain and prioritise suppliers who offer smart on-site storage solutions (such as Pick'n'Go). This eliminates the need for urgent courier transport and significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
Review the chemical structure of the flame retardant: Ensure how the flame-retardant function is applied in the material. Prioritise textiles and foam cores with built-in, permanent protection at a molecular level (such as Trevira CS and Waterlily). This avoids added chemicals that risk leaching out during washing or mechanical wear.
Holistic perspective and LCA For sustainability work to be relevant, a holistic approach is required. Järven Health Care are pioneers in the industry in having carried out full life cycle analyses (LCA) to map the total environmental impact from prospecting to end-use.
Smarter Logistics (Pick’n’Go) Traditional mattress rental with emergency deliveries is resource-intensive. By implementing intermediate stock at the customer's premises (Pick’n’Go), the number of transportations is drastically reduced, while twenty-four-hour availability is ensured.
Trevira CS and chemicals Trevira CS has permanent, built-in flame retardancy woven into its chemical structure, which is not affected by washing or abrasion. This eliminates the risk of flame retardants being released in the wash, a risk associated with other materials. The material is OEKO-TEX 100 certified.
Evidence-based pest control
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