Our third ESCH-R Podcast! A circular approach for medical devices in action: Ecodesign with Philips 🏥🌍 Join us as we explore the challenges and opportunities in transitioning healthcare towards a more circular future!

In each episode, hosted by Nicole Hunfeld (ESCH-R Principal Investigator) and Dimitry Vleugel, we bring together sustainability and circularity experts from industry leaders such as Philips, alongside medical professionals driving change in healthcare.

Our third episode features Harald Tepper from Philips, discussing Ecodesign: what is it, and how does Philips use this circular design principle when developing new products? And how do companies like Philips and hospitals such as Erasmus MC and UMC Utrecht collaborate within a public-private consortium to drive innovation in healthcare through circular design and sustainable product development?

Harald Tepper: “We have mapped out very clearly, just as hospitals are doing today, where our environmental impact actually comes from. Where does our footprint come from? It turns out that 90% of our environmental impact is caused by our products. Much more than the direct influence of what we do in our factories. It’s everything that is both directly and indirectly related to our production and the entire supply chain. That determines what our footprint is. So, it means that sustainable design really has to be at the very top of the agenda.”

And last but not least, at the end of the podcast, Harald posed two key questions to our next podcast guest PreZero: “How does PreZero envision the future in five, ten, or twenty years? And how can we, as Philips and PreZero, work together in a fundamentally different way to support circularity in hospitals, from start to finish?

🎧 Tune in to discover the steps being taken toward a circular healthcare system, with contributions from all parts of the circular value chain — from manufacturers to hospitals and waste processors.

Each episode will be in Dutch with some interviews in English.

Music copyright: Mr. Gerald

Tune in and discover how we can work together towards a circular future for healthcare!