ASVZ and sustainability: collaborating on a circular healthcare chain

We can make a lot of impact with circular policies in healthcare. Procurement plays an important role here. Rudi Crabbé, manager of facility services at ASVZ and initiator of Eten en Welzijn (NL), shares his experiences and shows how circularity is given an important place in healthcare. He also discusses the growing role of buyers in making healthcare more sustainable.

Can you tell us what ASVZ is doing?

‘At ASVZ, we want people with intellectual disabilities to experience ordinary life. We provide care that suits what our clients need. This can be 24/7 supervision in homes, but also help with work or leisure. In our work learning company, clients can learn and work. This not only gives them the care they need, but also the opportunity to participate in society. We support 5,600 clients and are helped by almost as many employees, and more than 3,000 volunteers.’

How do you look at circularity?

‘We believe that giving care today starts with thinking about tomorrow. That is why we make conscious choices to minimise our impact on the climate. We actively reduce our CO₂ emissions, reduce our use of raw materials and avoid waste. We believe that a better climate creates a healthier environment with less risk of disease. Therefore, we are working to raise awareness and reduce our CO₂ emissions. Our goal is to emit 55% less CO₂ by 2030 and to significantly reduce our use of primary resources. An important part of this is applying circular policies, especially on gas/electricity, food, housing and mobility. This will not only help us avoid waste, but also take steps towards fully circular operations by 2050.’

What steps have you already taken?

‘We have already taken important steps to apply circularity in the field of food. When purchasing, we use the MPZ Environmental criteria for healthcare. This helps us to choose products that have been produced responsibly and have the least possible impact on the environment. We pay attention to the origin, production methods and packaging of products.

We also focus explicitly on reducing food waste. Using the R-ladder, we examine how to prevent waste and optimally reuse residual streams. For instance, we send waste to mushroom growers or use it for composting so that it returns to the natural cycle. Furthermore, we increasingly use vegetable proteins instead of animal proteins, because vegetable products are less harmful to the environment. Local farmers and suppliers are important here. We like to collaborate with the region to strengthen the circular chain’.

We send waste to mushroom growers or use it for composting. This way, it returns to the natural cycle.

Rudi Crabbé

How did your nutrition policy come about?

‘Our nutrition policy started with making our circular strategy and vision discussable by letting clients, employees and other stakeholders taste and experience it. This created direction and created movement in the organisation. We started with the facts: what are we already doing, and where can we improve? From there, we invited further actions to be taken and to continue working on concrete steps. ASVZ has embraced the Green Deal Sustainable Care because it matches our own vision of humane care. In doing so, we strive for a safe, healthy and therefore sustainable living environment for everyone. The Environmental Thermometer helps us in this respect by indicating concrete steps we can take. A sustainable food policy is part of this. ‘

What else do you do?

‘Within our organisation, we make sustainability part of our daily work, from procurement to HR. It is not about separate initiatives, but about connecting different links in the chain. In addition to concrete measures like solar panels (15,000 units), heat pumps, water storage, etc., we already do a lot together with clients.’

Can you give examples of this?

‘As day care, clients in Brabant and the Rijnmond region work on farms, or in their own greenhouses and kitchen gardens where they help grow food and plants. This food is then used to put together meal boxes, which they can use again themselves. In turn, other clients collect potatoes from regional farmers and cut them into ready-to-eat products that other clients use when preparing their meals. We process the resulting waste in a sustainable way, for example by sending it to composting or using it for other circular processes.’

‘We also ensure that materials such as wood and old furniture are preserved in the chain. We help clients restore and reuse these materials, giving them new life in other projects. The impact of this connection means a lot to clients. They experience the success of collaborating with nature or working together on sustainability positively. In turn, their enthusiasm stimulates employees and the ASVZ organisation. As well as this, it is also healthy from a business point of view.’

We help clients restore and reuse wood and old furniture, giving it a new life in other projects.

Rudi Crabbé

What role does procurement play within your circular policy?

‘In healthcare, the resources we have to spend often come from the community. That is why it is extra important to handle them consciously and act efficiently. Collaborating is key in this respect. By working with external partners, we can jointly invest in projects such as energy generation and raw material reuse. To this end, we use clear criteria and quality marks to ensure structured and effective procurement. A good example is the procurement of incontinence materials. As one organisation, we cannot invest in sustainable materials, but if we work together, we can make that investment. By collaborating with other organisations, we can make bigger steps in our circular policy.’

What advice do you have for buyers?

‘My advice for buyers is to put sustainability and circularity at the centre of your procurement policy. Start with your organisation’s core values and vision and link these to sustainability goals. We are not obliged to tender, but we do go back every time to translating a procurement category into the contribution to decent care, passionate and competent employees and healthy business operations. The latter being a necessary condition and the outcome of the two previous goals. Make sustainability a fixed topic in discussions and consultations, both internally and with suppliers. Use criteria such as those of PIANOo to make rapid progress and create support. The R-ladder helps you assess where you stand and which steps you can still take. Make sure your goals are measurable so you can track progress and make adjustments where necessary. As a buyer, you have the opportunity and responsibility to promote sustainability. By thinking strategically and acting proactively, you can make a major contribution to making your sector more sustainable.’

As a buyer, you have the opportunity and responsibility to promote sustainability. ‘By thinking strategically and acting proactively, you can make a big contribution to making your sector more sustainable.

Rudi Crabbé

Looking further ahead, how do you see the future in 10 years?

‘In 10 years’ time, I hope sustainability and circularity will be as self-evident as safety. I see it then as something completely normalised in the sector. Circularity will then not only come from separate initiatives within organisations, but will be stimulated top down as well and included in the strategy. The buyer’s role will increase and develop. Healthcare organisations will then adopt a more preventive approach and think about the long-term impact of their purchases right from the start. A sustainable procurement policy is then important not only to solve problems afterwards, but especially to prevent pollution and waste. Thus, the role of procurement becomes increasingly important for creating a safe and healthy environment.’