Stryker’s Sustainability Solutions division is the leading provider of reprocessing and remanufacturing services for single-use medical devices (SUDs). Reprocessing is one of the most impactful and widely used sustainability initiatives in U.S. hospitals today, significantly reducing landfill waste and giving a second life to medical devices. Last year, Stryker helped their customers divert 13.4M pounds of waste from landfills and save $375.6M in supply costs.
Stryker strives for further environmental responsibility through its Products for the Planet program, for which it is in its fourth year of partnering with the National Forest Foundation (NFF) to plant trees on National Forests in support of the 50 Million For Our Forests campaign. Products for the Planet provides hospitals the opportunity to contribute to the partnership and reforest National Forests by achieving annual collection goals for SUDs.
Stryker knows the benefits we all receive from reforesting National Forests – clean air and water, climate change mitigation, and enhanced quality of recreational opportunities. That’s why Stryker is excited to celebrate National Forest Week through its NFF partnership, and by engaging with its customers on the importance of National Forests. By planting trees, Stryker is also giving back to our National Forests, and in turn, the nearby communities and all who will benefit from reforestation.
Erik Todd, Vice President of Customer Excellence at Stryker’s Sustainability Solutions division said, “We’re committed to partnering with our customers to improve the sustainability of healthcare. One of the creative ways we do this that has direct environmental impact is our Products for the Planets program. With every tree planted, we show a measurable and tangible way we are being responsible stewards of our planet.”
Freshly planted longleaf pine seedlings on the Chattahoochee-Oconee
In 2020, Stryker is supporting two important tree-planting projects on National Forests in Georgia and Arizona. In Georgia, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, located about an hour from Atlanta, have undergone insect and disease outbreaks that are taking a toll on forest health and resilience. Stryker’s support here will plant native longleaf and shortleaf pines to provide long-term habitat improvement and enhance the forests’ resilience to future outbreaks. In Southeast Arizona, Coronado National Forest’s Pinaleño Mountains have lost thousands of acres of conifer forests to recent severe wildfires. The mountains are home to several federally listed species and subspecies, including the threatened Mexican Spotted Owl and endangered Mount Graham red squirrel. The latter is a subspecies of the red squirrel that is only found in the high elevation forests of the Pinaleño Mountains. Styker’s support here will plant native Douglas-fir on wildfire-affected Mount Graham red squirrel habitat, providing a future food source and habitat for the endangered squirrel.
Pinaleño Mountains on the Coronado
Stryker’s 2020 partnership will plant over 71,000 trees on Chattahoochee-Oconee and Coronado National Forests. To learn more about Stryker’s Sustainability Solutions division, visit sustainability.stryker.com.
Header photo: Krissy Stark.
