New EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) Criteria have been developed for electrical and electronic equipment used in the health care sector. Stakeholders are invited to comment on the criteria by 2 September 2013. A range of environmental aspects were taken into account when designing the criteria, with energy consumption considered the most significant.

As stakeholders record energy usage in a variety of ways, before detailing the criteria it was necessary to agree on a common method for recording. This was also the case for water usage. Products covered by the criteria include bed side monitoring equipment, electrocardiographic (ECG) equipment, laser instruments for surgery, x-ray equipment and more.

To date, industry associations, medical professionals, NGOs, procurement experts and others have provided input and comments to the criteria revision. SEMCo, the Swedish government's expert body on sustainable procurement, volunteered to develop the EU GPP Criteria for medical devices, and will develop criteria for consumables and disposables in the sector in the near future.

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