Blog #23: All-encompassing sustainability

By Natascha de Raad
reading time: 2 Minutes

I can't get enough of sustainability. Many of you will feel the same way, because this mega-topic is everywhere. Our Managing Director Lars Dörhage reported on the new sustainability report from Med-X-Press in BLOG 21. I don't want to bore you or insist on how important this topic is for the future of companies. But there are so many facets that I would like to emphasize one point again. Thinking outside the box: "How sustainable is the German healthcare system?" 

Sustainability is more 

At Med-X-Press, we deal intensively with all issues relating to the sustainability of our company. To this end, we are in contact with customers, suppliers and employees. Sustainable action within the company is also influenced by external factors and legal requirements. In this respect, we are part of the system, but what was missing until now was a holistic view of the German healthcare system. This gap has now been closed. A sustainability index for the healthcare sector in Germany is available for the first time. The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the consulting firm Vandage have taken on this task with scientific support and published the index for the year 2022.

Sustainability index for the German healthcare sector

Despite all the justified criticism of our healthcare system, it is one of the best in the world - with potential for optimization, which also applies to the sustainability of the system. And just by the way: also for digitalization. The aim of the index is to create a measuring instrument that enables evaluation and target setting. 

What does the index contain? 

The index is based on the three familiar ESG indicators: environmental, social and governance. However, these have been supplemented by two criteria that relate specifically to the healthcare sector: The health-organizational dimension, which includes access to or utilization of healthcare services, and the health-epidemiological dimension with factors such as life expectancy or mortality. The index contains a total of 267 indicators in 23 categories. 

And the conclusion? 

 "There is no one-size-fits-all answer" to the question of the current state of sustainability in the German healthcare system. This is due to the data situation, the unavailability of valid measured values and the lack of targets. Targets that are essential for an assessment are only available for 12 percent of the indicators.  

Two points have emerged for me in the course of my work: 

1.  it is good to know that the same challenges exist in the overall environment as in our sustainability reporting. Here, as there, the crux of the matter is collecting data or combining it and defining realistic targets following a materiality analysis. 
2. sustainability must be viewed holistically. As a pharmaceutical logistics company, we are a stakeholder in this healthcare system and make a significant contribution to the security of supply while observing the criteria for sustainable action within the company - and beyond. I therefore rate the approach for the sustainability index and its consistent further development very positively. 

Only in this way can we also optimize our services and develop new models together. We need to look beyond the boundaries of companies. 

Our to-do list is extensive - let's go! 

Let's start with an exchange, let's talk about your experiences and ideas! Write to me at :blog@med-x-press.de