American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES)
ASHES is the professional association of choice providing leadership to ensure a clean and safe health care community.  ASHES sets the standard for environmental excellence in advancing health care, textile care professions and related disciplines.

The Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA)
The CFPA is an independent not-for-profit accreditation & standard setting organization, incorporated in the state of Illinois. The primary purpose of the association is to promote Total Chlorine Free policies, programs, and technologies throughout the world.

CleanMed
CleanMed is the premiere environmental conference on environmentally preferable products and green buildings for leaders and key decision makers in the healthcare industry.  Visit their website to access additional information and to download presentations from CleanMed 2006.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, whose mission is to protect human health and the environment, leads the nation’s environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts.  The EPA offers valuable information on mercury, pesticides, recycling, hazardous waste, and more.

• Comprehensive Procurement Guideline Program
  The Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) program is part of EPA's continuing effort to promote the use of materials recovered from solid waste. Buying recycled-content products ensures that the materials collected in recycling programs will be used again in the manufacture of new products.  
  
  Product categories currently covered by CPG include construction products, carpet, carpet cushion, cement and concrete, consolidated and reprocessed latex paint, floor tiles, restroom dividers, nonpaper office products such as binders, clipboards, file folders, clip portfolios, presentation folders, office furniture, office waste receptacles, recycling containers, plastic envelopes, plastic trash bags, printer ribbons, and toner cartridges , paper and paper products such as commercial/industrial sanitary tissue products, printing and writing papers, paperboard and packaging products and miscellaneous papers, transportation products such as traffic cones and parking stops, and miscellaneous products such as mats and signage.  Specific recycled content levels are established for each product category through a stakeholder process including manufacturers, recyclers, purchasers and the general public.  For additional information, visit http://www.epa.gov/cpg/products.htm.

Health Care Without Harm
Health Care Without Harm is an international coalition of 443 organizations in 52 countries of hospitals and healthcare systems, medical professionals, community groups, health-affected constituencies, labor unions, environmental and health organizations and religious groups. 

Health Care Without Harm is working to transform the healthcare industry so it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to the public health and the environment. 

Health Care Without Harm’s website offers resources to assist you in achieving your environmental goals. Heath Care Without Harm addresses issues such as mercury, PVC/DEHP, medical waste, healthy building, food, bromiated flame retardants, food, electronics, pesticides and fragrances, green purchasing and chemical policy. 

Resources will assist you to:

• understand the issues
• identify alternatives 
• establish guidelines
• develop purchasing policies

Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E)
H2E is a non-profit organization jointly founded by the American Hospital Association, the Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care Without Harm, and the American Nurses Association. H2E is a leader in the national movement for environmental sustainability in health care, developing a number of tools to aid in the education and implementation of hospital pollution prevention programs, the development of best practices, resources directories, case studies, and more.  Resources also include:

• Model waste minimization, mercury elimination, and other pollution prevention plans. 
• A peer-to-peer listserv that allows health care professionals to ask technical questions and receive advice and feedback from their peers.  
• A monthly newsletter, STATGreen, that includes an H2E Partner's success story in dealing with a particular environmental challenge, information about the upcoming H2E teleconference, and a variety of other features.
• H2E hosts a series of 24 teleconferences each year integrating green builiding and greener operations and covering topics such as pharmaceutical management, energy and water efficiency, hazardous waste compliance, and green building design and construction.
• Recognition for your environmental achievements and leadership role in the movement toward environmental sustainability in healthcare through prominent awards.

For more inofrmation, contact H2E at H2E@H2E-online.org or complete an online registration form.  Please let H2E know MedAssets encouraged you to to join!

Inform, Inc.
Inform, Inc. is an independent research organization that examines the effects of business practices on the environment and on human health.  Inform’s goal is to identify ways of doing business that ensure environmentally sustainable economic growth.  Informs reports are used by government, industry, and environmental leaders around the world.  Research focus areas include advancing the shift to sustainable transportation, promoting waste prevention and the design of less wasteful products, and toxic chemicals and human health.  Resources include: fact sheets, reports, journal articles, and newsletters.

The Louisville Charter for Safer Chemicals
In May 2004, Louisville hosted a meeting of a network of groups and individuals with the common goal of working together on chemical policies and campaigns to protect human health and the environment from exposures to unnecessary harmful chemicals. Participants named the Charter after this city to honor it and all the communities across the country and around the world committed to ending toxic chemical contamination.  The Charter outlines principles to change our chemicals management system so it protects workers, communities, and the environment.

The Charter recognizes the first step to creating a safe and healthy global environment is major reform of our nation’s chemicals policy.  Learn more about practical applications of the Louisville Charter by reviewing background papers on reform initiatives.

The Nightingale Institute for Health and the Environment
 The Nightingale Institute for Health and the Environment (NIHE) assists healthcare professionals to recognize the inextricable link between human and environmental health.  

NIHE has been working to facilitate “greener” healthcare through the development of the Health Care Environmental Purchasing Tools (HCEPT), which was developed through a grant from the Great Lakes Protection Fund.  The tool consists of six components designed to help your facility evaluate the environmental impact of the products it purchases.

Sustainable Hospitals
Sustainable Hospitals provides technical support to healthcare industry professionals to offer guidance to select products and work practices that reduce occupational and environmental hazards, maintain quality patient care, and contain costs.  Resources offered by Sustainable Hospitals include tools to find alternative products by product category, manufacturer or hazard.  Information, case studies and fact sheets are also offered on topics such as Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, Glutaraldehyde, Latex and gloves and safe needle and sharps devices.