The Greenhealth Approved Seal signals to purchasers that a product has been reviewed for environmental features and found to meet our criteria. The criteria, dependent on the product category, focuses on chemical content, responsible manufacturing, packaging, and impact during use.

The program was developed to help health care providers quickly identify more sustainable products. Greenhealth Approved reduces the time-consuming, and sometimes costly product reviews that are needed to research and interpret sustainability features.

While the Greenhealth Approved Seal was developed with a primary focus on healthcare, its principles of environmental sustainability and human health extend far beyond. The Seal is a powerful tool for any organization, from schools and government buildings to hotels and private businesses, that wants to ensure its products contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment.

The review process starts with data collection and supplier questionnaires. Products being vetted must include full ingredient disclosure. The submitted data is reviewed by Greenhealth Approved's team of experts. In limited cases, outside experts may be consulted.

The Greenhealth Approved Seal is currently applicable to products meeting specific criteria developed by Health Care Without Harm.

Current product categories include:

• Medical products
• Carpet
• Flooring
• Furnishings
• Gloves

An up to date listing of the products that carry the Greenhealth Approved Seal can be found on the Greenhealth Approved Products page. Products that expand on the categories listed are being evaluated for inclusion. As the program expands, other sustainability factors may be included and evaluated.

Learn how to get the Greenhealth Approved Seal.

For products that address different sustainability issues or are not within one of the Greenhealth Approved categories, please complete the application. We will contact you to better understand your product(s). Submission of a product for review is not an indication of future licensing.

No, the Greenhealth Approved Seal is not a product endorsement. It signifies that a product has been evaluated against a set of criteria allowing healthcare organizations to easily identify products meeting stringent sustainability criteria, eliminating the need for redundant and time-consuming research. You may find similar products from multiple manufacturers that carry the Seal.

Suppliers are required to report any formulation changes made to products that carry the Seal. Greenhealth Approved reserves the right to conduct seller audits at their sole discretion.

By participating in the Greenhealth Approved program, suppliers can signal to purchasers that their product(s) meet Health Care Without Harm's criteria and have been vetted by a trusted source. The Seal allows potential buyers to quickly identify product(s) that will help them achieve sustainability goals.

The Seal on products does not prohibit purchasers from using their existing group purchasing organization (GPO) or local/regional contracts that might be in place. Therefore, the Seal aligns easily with current purchasing practices, while providing enhanced confidence in meeting providers' sustainability priorities.

Review how to get the Greenhealth Approved Seal.

• Visit the webpage for your product category and review the criteria and specific requirements. Note: A comprehensive review and sound understanding of the relevant criteria is necessary to ensure that products meet the requirements.
• Download the intake form relevant to the category.
• Follow the application process and submit the application and completed form. The Greenhealth Approved team will review your submission and contact you with next steps.

The use of the Greenhealth Approved Seal requires a nominal fee that covers the product screening. If the product meets the criteria, an annual licensing fee is required for the use of the Greenhealth Approved Seal. That fee is based on the number of product brands/configurations for each formulation.

That determination is made through the application, data collection, and screening process. The screening process will require submission of ingredients, including proprietary. The agreement signed by both parties requires confidentiality.

The Greenhealth Approved Seal can be displayed on marketing materials, supplier website, packaging, and exhibit materials as outlined in our Greenhealth Approved Seal User Guide.

With complete and accurate information on the product information form and application, screening will typically take four weeks. If a product falls outside of the current product category being screened, the Greenhealth Approved team will work with the manufacturer to determine a timeframe.

The signed agreement will be for a three-year term, barring product formulation and/or packaging changes.

Yes. The Greenhealth Approved screening process is separate and distinct from the legacy Healthier Hospitals Initiative and requires an application and information to be provided for review by the Greenhealth Approved team.

Greenhealth Approved uses the criteria of Health Care Without Harm, which is based on years of work and research in health care sustainability. Research and information is continually updated and supplemented by Health Care Without Harm, so in some cases our criteria will change. These changes will be done thoughtfully and only when necessary. In those cases, the Greenhealth Approved team will work with impacted manufacturers to determine if rescreening is necessary and complete the steps involved in measuring against a new set of criteria.

Yes. However, these are two distinct initiatives that provide purchasers with different types of information. The CES was established by the U.S. Health Care Climate Council as part of its aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within health care supply chains. Suppliers self-assess their performance against the standard. A one-page assessment tool is available on the website. Since the standard is a tool for measurement, modeling, and evaluation—not a certification, seal, or badge—there is no formal, third-party credentialing process. More information about the Climate Excellence Standard can be found on the Practice Greenhealth website.

Any supplier wishing to dispute the conformity decision of Greenhealth Approved should do so via email within 30 days of notification of the decision. The email should be addressed to: Info@greenhealthapproved.org

The email should include the specific reason the supplier believes a product DOES conform to the criteria and any data evidence to support that claim.

Greenhealth Approved staff will review the dispute email and associated product information. Where appropriate or necessary, Greenhealth Approved will discuss the dispute claim with the supplier for clarification purposes.

Greenhealth Approved will notify the supplier of its decision on conformity within 30 days. If a delay is experienced, the supplier will be notified of the reason for any such delay and provided with an estimated time frame for the conformity decision.

The decision by Greenhealth Approved on conformity of a product after completion of the above dispute process is final unless the product is reformulated and resubmitted for vetting/validation, at which time, the product would be considered to be a NEW product application.

When a product is found not to conform, the supplier is notified with an explanation of the reason for non-conformity. When a product is found to conform to the criteria, after the dispute resolution process, the supplier is notified by the Greenhealth Approved team and a Greenhealth Approved License Agreement is established.

To request a copy of the Greenhealth Approved Policies and Procedures on Conformity and Non-Conformity processes, please email info@GreenhealthApproved.org.

The Greenhealth Approved Seal helps you quickly identify products that meet rigorous sustainability criteria without spending time on lengthy research. Products with the Seal have been independently verified by experts, giving you confidence that you're making sustainable purchasing decisions that align with your organization's environmental goals.

Yes, the Greenhealth Approved Seal is an indicator that the product has been screened against and met a set of sustainability criteria. The purchasing of Greenhealth Approved products can be done through your existing contractual arrangements, logistics, and processes. You can request and purchase products carrying the Seal using your existing processes.

Your purchase of Greenhealth Approved products helps to accelerate the market for sustainable products by signaling to manufacturers that there is a demand for them. This can lead to increased competition, which may result in more affordable and innovative green options.

Furthermore, using these products helps healthcare providers improve resilience and efficiency by reducing the time and effort required to research sustainable options, allowing staff to focus on other critical sustainability strategies.

The products themselves support the sustainability movement by being vetted to be less harmful to the environment, often meeting criteria that restrict the use of dangerous chemicals and promote recyclability or the use of recycled content.

No. The nominal fees for screening and use of the Greenhealth Approved Seal are paid by the manufacturer.

Yes. Suppliers should be encouraged to review the criteria and screening process, apply and submit their data for screening.

BIFMA LEVEL certifies furniture products by reviewing corporate, facility, and product manufacturing processes across Environmental Impact, Health and Wellness, and Social Responsibility categories. Together, the impact areas and categories review the entire life cycle of the product and ensure sustainable practices in all areas. The BIFMA LEVEL program has three performance tiers; LEVEL 1, 2, and 3 - products must meet a minimum level to be certified and the more criteria a product meets the higher the product ascends from LEVEL 1 to 2 to 3.

Optional credit 7.4.4 within the BIFMA certification utilizes the criteria of Health Care Without Harm for furnishings. Therefore, BIFMA certification that includes achievement of this optional credit signifies validation of the products against the criteria.

Because many of the furnishing manufacturers serving health care are already going through BIFMA certification, collaborating with BIFMA to achieve Greenhealth Approved validation eliminates the need for duplicative review processes including data submission. The inclusion of optional credit 7.4.4 streamlines the certification process, enabling manufacturers to validate their products to meet the furnishings criteria of Health Care Without Harm.

No. The Healthier Hospital Initiative is no longer in existence. When the program was established years ago, it was instrumental in achieving market movement to more sustainable furnishings and building materials. However, the program was based on supplier self-attestation with the need for individual hospitals and health care providers to perform their own validation at each organization. The use of BIFMA and Greenhealth Approved removes the need for that individual validation.

The lists on the Health Care Without Harm site represented self-attested products that required each provider to validate the ingredients against criteria. Greenhealth Approved is a signal to the market that a higher degree of product transparency was included. With the establishment of Greenhealth Approved, products previously listed on the Health Care Without Harm or Practice Greenhealth sites have been removed.

Pricing is based on the number of product lines/brands submitted (and BIFMA 7.4.4 certified).

Currently, the program only includes the furnishings categories that can go through the BIFMA certification. We recognize the need for the market to be able to easily identify products that meet the sustainability criteria of Health Care Without Harm and are working to expand the program to include other categories under furnishings. Announcements to the market will be made as these expansions are launched. You can sign up to receive updates from us to get the latest news.

Only those products that are BIFMA Certified with optional credit 7.4.4 are eligible to license the Greenhealth Approved Seal.