By Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief

Worldwide and across industries, organizations are seeking to put forth sustainability efforts. As such, they are analyzing products, materials, components, and supply partners. With supply chains already strained, the interest in sustainability creates an even more challenging environment for those partners. With this in mind, it’s important for companies to have a sustainability plan ahead of time to address any potential questions from customers.

In addition, the interest in sustainability can have a direct impact on the development of medical devices. It’s critical to address important sustainability aspects early in the design, such as materials used, device disposal, reuse vs. single use, packaging, etc. With so many variables that can create a touchpoint with sustainability efforts, it’s no wonder many companies have questions about balancing them with product development.

To help address some of those questions, two representatives from Roechling responded to different concerns in the following Q&A. Bill Ruth, VP of Sales and Marketing North America, and Erika Unjaev, Head of Innovation, both tackled topics including the drivers of innovation and sustainability, the interaction between the two, and often overlooked considerations when trying to balance them.

Sean Fenske: What are some of the primary drivers of innovation for medical device projects in your segment of the industry?

Bill Ruth: Innovation in the medical device industry is driven by several key factors, including miniaturization, sustainability, cost-effective engineering, simplified processes, and improving patient outcomes. Developing smaller devices with fewer components enhances patient comfort, reduces material consumption, and cuts shipping costs. Efforts to reduce global warming and eliminate harmful substances like PFAS are pushing the industry toward greener solutions. Streamlining the design and manufacturing process helps cut costs without compromising quality, while improving assembly and disassembly processes leads to more efficient production and easier maintenance or recycling of devices. These factors contribute to the advancement and sustainability of medical device projects.

Fenske: What are the main innovation challenges your customers are putting to you, and how are you addressing them?

Ruth: The main innovation challenges our customers present revolve around reducing costs and streamlining processes. They emphasize the need for price reduction, which we address by optimizing our tool engineering. This involves refining the design of our tools and carefully selecting the types of tools we build to enhance efficiency. Additionally, we focus on minimizing the use of materials and the variety of materials, ensuring our solutions are both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. By tackling these challenges head-on, we are able to meet our customers’ demands for innovative, efficient, and sustainable solutions.

Fenske: How does the sustainability trend play into your innovation efforts?

Ruth: The sustainability trend significantly influences our innovation efforts by guiding us to design with the environment in mind right from the initial phases. In our innovation process, we evaluate new product ideas based on multiple criteria, with sustainability being a key factor. There are numerous entry points throughout the product lifecycle, beginning with the raw materials and extending through the usage phase to disposal. We aim to reduce waste and use fewer components, incorporating detachable connections to facilitate maintenance and recycling. By leveraging environmentally friendly plastics, we ensure our materials have a lower environmental impact. Additionally, we acknowledge the potential of circular economy principles in the medical device industry and prioritize recycling in our design stages. This approach helps pave the way for a more sustainable and eco-friendly future.

Fenske: Why has sustainability become a more important factor for you and/or your customers?

Erika Unjaev: At 4.4%, the healthcare sector is responsible for more global emissions than the entire aviation sector at 3.0%. That is why we at Röchling Medical take our responsibility to develop sustainable medical and pharmaceutical products seriously and have set ourselves the goal of building up comprehensive expertise in sustainable product development. As awareness of climate change and environmental degradation grows, more individuals and businesses feel a responsibility to reduce their carbon footprints and implement eco-friendly practices. Modern consumers increasingly prioritize sustainability, valuing companies that align with their ethical beliefs. They seek out products that are environmentally friendly, ethically sourced, and responsibly manufactured. Many businesses see sustainability as a key part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Demonstrating a commitment to sustainability can enhance a company’s reputation and strengthen its relationship with stakeholders.

Also, governments worldwide are enacting stricter environmental regulations, pushing companies to adopt sustainable practices to remain compliant. In addition, sustainable practices often lead to long-term cost savings. For instance, using energy-efficient technologies or reducing waste can lower operational expenses.

Adopting sustainable practices can drive innovation. Businesses that embrace sustainability often develop new technologies and processes that provide them with a competitive edge. Overall, sustainability is no longer just a trend—it’s becoming a fundamental aspect of how businesses operate and interact with their customers.

Fenske: Where are the greatest challenges involved with being innovative while still maintaining a focus on sustainability? What advancements need to be made to make this an easier balance?

Ruth: One of the greatest challenges in balancing innovation and sustainability in the medical device industry is the high cost and limited availability of sustainable materials and resins. These materials are often at a premium, making it difficult to justify their use from a cost perspective. To make this balance easier, advancements are needed in the development and production of more affordable and readily available sustainable materials. Additionally, increased investment in research and development can drive innovations that reduce the cost of these materials, enabling wider adoption without compromising on sustainability goals.

Fenske: When clients with which you are working strive to be innovative while also keeping sustainability as a primary goal, where do they overlook critical factors or what aspects do they fail to consider?

Ruth: When customers strive to be innovative while maintaining sustainability as a primary goal, they often overlook several critical factors. One key aspect is conducting a comprehensive lifecycle assessment. This involves evaluating the environmental impact of a product from raw material extraction through production, use, and disposal. Clients sometimes focus too narrowly on certain stages of the lifecycle and miss opportunities for improvement in others.

Another often overlooked factor is adopting a forward-looking, pay-it-forward model. Customers should consider the long-term impact of their decisions on future generations. This involves not only reducing immediate environmental footprints but also implementing sustainable practices that have lasting benefits. Ensuring innovation aligns with a vision for a healthier planet for future generations requires a holistic approach that encompasses the entire product lifecycle and a commitment to long-term sustainability goals.

Fenske: Do you have any additional comments you’d like to share based on any of the topics we discussed or something you’d like to tell medical device manufacturers?

Unjaev: As a 203-year-old organization, our mission is to ensure future generations inherit a healthy planet. We have established a dedicated sustainability board focused on maintaining the highest level of patient safety while also prioritizing environmental sustainability. As strategic partners, we offer innovative services to support our customers and collaborators. We have product development teams that focus on how best to innovate medical device designs to improve patient outcomes that will reduce hospital stays, reduce patient recovery times, and lower readmission rates. Our sustainability and product development teams are a testament to our commitment, and we make their expertise available to our partners and customers to foster sustainable practices across the industry. The decisions we make together with our customers in the design and development phase have a decisive impact on the sustainability of the product.

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