The FDI World Dental Federation has launched an initiative to improve environmental sustainability in dentistry along with Colgate, Dentsply-Sirona, GSK Consumer Healthcare, and TePe.
Over the next two years, FDI said it will collaborate with these partners and other stakeholders to map out strategies and implement solutions to help reduce the environmental impact of dentistry and the dental industry.
The work will lead to the publication of an FDI Sustainability Code of Practice that will provide guidelines and objectives for achieving a sustainable procurement and supply procedure, which will be signed by co-signatories across the supply chain.
Environmental sustainability in dentistry is multifaceted and involves numerous stakeholders, FDI said. Carbon dioxide emissions, plastics use, waste generation, and other environmental impacts are major challenges at all levels of the dental resource supply chain and in care delivery, FDI continued.
Reducing the impact of dentistry on the environment will require action and collaboration from many different actors, FDI said. The founding partners are part of a proactive approach to tackling these environmental threats and developing concerted and far-reaching solutions, FDI said.
The project also aims to equip dentists and their teams with a suite of tools and resources to help them improve sustainability in their practices while informing the public of its role in sustainability in dentistry through improved oral health and making informed decisions.
“I am delighted to witness FDI’s Sustainability in Dentistry project evolve into this high-caliber, multi-partner initiative to achieve our sustainability goals for the dental profession,” said FDI president Dr. Gerhard K. Seeberger.
“The project’s humble beginnings as a way to encourage oral health professionals and dental practices to think green is now moving into a phase of collaboration, action, and real results,” said Seeberger.
“As the world’s oral care leader with a focus on building purpose-driven brands, we are thrilled to help shape the FDI Sustainability in Dentistry initiative,” said Ann Tracy, chief sustainability officer at Colgate.
“We are reimagining a healthier and more sustainable future for all people, their pets, and our planet, so this is a natural fit for us,” said Tracy.
“GSK Consumer Healthcare is fighting to eradicate preventable oral health problems and working to empower dentists and the general public towards better, more sustainable dental care,” said Sarah McDonald, vice president of sustainability at GSK Consumer Healthcare.
“This partnership supports this and our wider commitment to tackling environmental barriers to everyday health, because people can only be healthy on a healthy planet,” said McDonald.
“At Dentsply Sirona, we are incredibly proud to be a founding member of the new cross-sector Sustainability in Dentistry partnership with FDI,” said CEO Don Casey of Dentsply Sirona.
“Our mission as a company is to improve oral health worldwide, and sustainability is core to our strategy. We are committed to helping create a more sustainable world for future generations and look forward to the progress we will be able to achieve through this landmark initiative,” Casey said.
“We are very excited to be part of the Sustainability in Dentistry initiative. We want to contribute to positive development and a more sustainable society,” said Helena Ossmer Thedius, marketing and innovation director at TePe.
“Working towards sustainable and circular solutions within dentistry is an important mission, and it is our belief that to be successful and make a real impact, we need to collaborate,” Ossmer Thedius said.
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