Central Sterile Services

HOW TO: Meeting Your Sustainability Goals with STERIS Equipment
What is the LEED® Green Building Program?
In the last 20 years, the term LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™, has become
synonymous with the transformation of buildings and communities into sustainable, socially responsible environments that
improve the quality of life. LEED provides a framework for rating building performance against a set of well defined criteria
established by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Up to 100 credits plus 10 bonus credits may be earned in pursuitof a LEED Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum rating. Some of the benefits of LEED certification include lower operating
costs due to reduction of energy and water use, a smaller carbon footprint and in some cases, tax and utility incentives.
LEED is a voluntary, consensus driven approach to “going green”, but for some sectors, such as local, state and federal
governments as well as defense, some level of LEED compliance may be required when constructing new facilities or for
major remodeling projects.

Water Use in Hospitals
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Commercial and Institutional building sector is the largest
consumer of water, accounting for 17% of the water drawn from public supplies. Hospitals consume 7% of that amount.
The top three uses of water in a hospital are plumbing fixtures, cooling and heating, and medical equipment. Medicalequipment, including washer disinfectors and steam sterilizers, consumes about 15% of the total amount of water used ina typical hospital. Adopting the use of water-saving technology can significantly reduce this amount and make a meaningful
contribution to a facility’s overall effort to reduce water consumption and meet its LEED sustainability goals.

TOP 3 USES OF WATER IN HOSPITALS*
35%

20%

Plumbing
Fixtures

Cooling andHeating

15%

MedicalEquipment

9%

7%

7%

7%

Laundry

Landscaping

Kitchen/Dishwashing

Other*https://www3.epa.gov/watersense/commercial/types.html

One Integrated Approach to Healthcare
1How STERIS Can Help
STERIS recognizes the significant contribution it can make to your sustainability goals and has implemented a number ofmeasures to significantly reduce the potable water consumption of sterile processing equipment.
The use of electric vacuum pumps for conditioning and drying in steam sterilizers has reduced cooling water consumption
by up to 40%, with additional savings coming from advancements in cycle performance, temperature sensors andautomatic utilities shutdown. The availability of water recycling options can further reduce consumption by anadditional 35-99%.
Washer disinfectors with innovative spray arm and sump designs have also dramatically improved efficiency while reducing
water usage. By switching to current technology, water use can be reduced by up to 68% compared to previous generation
washer disinfectors. The latest advances in cart washers allow up to 70% of water to be recycled.
Water Consumption Improvement Compared to Previous Generation Equipment

Washer Disinfectors*

Steam Sterilizers*

WaterConsumption

Reliance
444 WDVision
Single Chamber

AMSCO
Eagle 3000

AMSCO
Evolution

AMSCO
Evolution withSTERI-GREEN

AMSCO
Evolution withSTERI-GREEN
PLUS

Gal/cycle

88.2

28238

146

125

1

Gal/year

229,32072,800618,800

379,600

325,000

2,600

Annual water&Sewer Cost

$3,715$1,245$8,477$5,200$4,452$36* 10 cycles, 260 days per year2

Creating a Healthy Planet and a Healthy Bottom Line

Save up to 15 million gallons and 75% of water and sewer costs over 10 years!*$350,000$300,000

20$250,000$150,000

10$100,000
5Million of Gallons

15$200,000$50,000
0$0
Yr 1

Yr 2

Yr 3

Yr 4

Yr 5

Yr 6

Yr 7

Yr 8

Yr 9

Yr 10Previous Technology

Current Technology

Current Technology with Water Saver

Premium Water-Saving Technology* Previous technology vs Premium Water-Saving Technology. Cumulative washer and sterilizer consumption based onprocessing instrument sets for a typical 10 OR facility 260 days/year.

LEED Credits
LEED credits may be earned in seven main categories including:• Integrative Process• Energy and Atmosphere• Location and Transportation• Materials and Resources• Sustainable Sites• Indoor Environmental Quality• Water Efficiency
Bonus credit categories include Innovation and Regional Priority. In some categories, a facility must meet certain
prerequisite requirements before credits can be earned. For example, in the Water Efficiency category, a 20% reduction
in water usage must be demonstrated and potable water consumption used for medical equipment cooling must be
minimized before other credits can be applied.

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The use of STERIS Sterile Processing Equipment can Contribute to Earning the Following LEED Credits:

Credit Category

CreditPotential

Water Efficiency
Credit 3, Water Use Reduction

1

Energy and Atmosphere
Credit 1, Optimize energy
performance

1-2

Materials and Resources
Credit 2, Construction Waste

C˚

AMSCO Washer Disinfectors

AMSCO Steam Sterilizers• High impingement washing
reduces water usage by 68%
compared to previous models• Electric vacuum pump reduces water usageby 40% compared to Venturi vacuumsystems• Water saving systems
STERI-GREEN andSTERI-GREEN Plus save 35-99% of thewater used during sterilization cycles• Sensors reduce cooling water to theminimum required• Efficient drying systemconserves electricity by using
recycled air in the chamber,reaching and maintaining
temperature faster• Automatic utilities shutdown conserves
steam, water and electricity when thesterilizer is not in use• Recyclable materials used inpackaging• Special shipping methods mean that aminimal amount of recyclable packaging
materials are used.
• Stainless steel components are recyclable atthe sterilizer’s end of life.
• Remanufactured sterilizers can be furnished
for the project.

1-3

Credit 4.1, Water Use
Reduction, Building Equipment

F˚STERIS Equipment

1

Credit 3, Sustainability Sourced
Materials
Indoor Environmental
Quality
Credit 7, Thermal Comfort

11• Piping and chamber insulation reduces heat loss to the surrounding environment

Innovation in Design
Credit 3, Integrated Project
Planning and Design1• Optimize sterile processing department layout, workflow and equipment
performance and reduce utility usage with STERIS’s complete planning andimplementation services

Regional Priority1• Use of innovative STERIS technologies minimizes overall environmental impact

Total possible credits

8-11

STERIS technologies can help contribute to 10% of attainable credits in a
LEED Healthcare Building!

STERIS University Key Learning Objective  Whether your goal is earning LEED certification or your facility is simply “goinggreen”, careful equipment planning and implementation can significantly reduce the carbon footprint and overall
environmental impact of your building.
Contact your STERIS representative and discover the advantage of being part of A Line of One.

ONE Partner, ONE unbroken
Line of protection.

That is the power of...

M4397EN.2016.01 Rev. A ©2016
STERIS Corporation.
All rights reserved.

STERIS Corporation
5960 Heisley Road
Mentor, OH 44060-1834 ∙ USA
440-354-2600 ∙ 800-548-4873
www.steris.com

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