Posted October 3, 2025

We are happy to announce the next edition of ACTION Innovation Network's Medtech Sustainability Forum to be held on November 13th and hosted by Foley & Lardner LLP in Boston. The Forum brings together clinicians, hospital leaders, engineers, industry experts, sustainability directors, and innovators to highlight the connection between surgical innovation, robotics, and sustainability. Sessions will offer practical strategies for shifting appropriate cases to Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) and optimizing robotic-assisted programs to reduce carbon emissions, cut costs, and improve outcomes. Topics include avoiding bed-day emissions, using green anesthesia in ambulatory settings, and designing robotic pathways that minimize waste, energy use, complications, and staff strain. By approaching patient-centered innovation with a commitment to environmental responsibility, outcomes that benefit both patients and the planet are realized. Innovators will be highlighted and showcase their solutions through pitch presentations at the Forum.

Chief Sustainability Officer at Medtronic, Raman Venkatesh, will deliver the opening keynote, Medtronic's Approach to Sustainability: Aligning Purpose with Business Strategy. We thank Medtronic for sponsoring this event at the Sustainability Champion Level!

Registration is now open. Please join us and take advantage of early-bird pricing until October 24th. Register here.

Posted December 12, 2024

Laboratories, whether in academic, R&D, industrial, or hospital settings, rely heavily on single-use plastics, which provide the benefits of sterility, safety, durability and quality for the healthcare industry. However, they often come with significant environmental consequences. Only a fraction of the plastic waste is recycled, much of which is uncontaminated and recyclable.

Hear how Polycarbin, GreenLabs Recycling, Research Recycling, Republic Services New England, and MassRecycle address the medical plastics waste problem using sustainable and circular practices. The roundtable will discuss Massachusetts waste bans and the importance of collaborations for enabling sustainable innovations in recycling medical plastics from labs.

Participating companies will provide information on quantifying and reporting lab waste and giving second life to single use plastics by integrating recycled materials back into manufacturing supply chains. Pilots and partnerships that companies have developed to drive sustainable innovation will be highlighted.

View the Recording on YouTube.

Posted April 23, 2024

Sustainability in medical device design has become an increasingly important consideration for manufacturers, decision makers and end users. It is recognized that not only are sustainable medical devices better for the environment and attractive to consumers, but they can also offer business benefits in terms of cost savings, investor attractiveness, and improved brand and competitive advantage.

Beyond the medtech sector’s core goal of improving health outcomes, we acknowledge that preserving a healthy environment and building socially responsible value chains are essential in keeping humans in good health. The medtech industry can be at the forefront of addressing sustainable healthcare challenges, and we feel that sustainable and circular solutions are the key to addressing these issues.

Join co-hosts, ACTION Innovation Network and UMass Lowell Innovation Hub for the day-long Medtech Sustainability Forum on May 16th at Foley & Lardner in Boston to hear from an exceptional group of corporate leaders and scale-up companies to discuss challenges and successes in sustainable design and manufacturing of medical devices and managing environmental impact. This interactive forum will generate actionable solutions for medtech and healthcare organizations to advance their sustainability goals through circular strategies, using examples of corporations that have found success in these models. We hope you can join us!

AGENDA and REGISTRATION

March 12, 2024

Nonprofit startup incubators and other entrepreneur support organizations can encounter challenges with funding and financials. Many incubators wish to explore whether there may be additional sources of revenue that incubators can seek consistent with their nonprofit status. This webinar will reveal how nonprofit incubators can navigate rules governing 501(c)(3) organizations, and others, in generating various types of revenue.

Join Jonathan Klavens, Frans Wethly and Samantha Rothberg from Klavens Law Group, P.C. on April 4th from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm as they discuss how nonprofit incubators can navigate rules governing 501(c)(3) organizations in generating various types of revenue. The Klaven team provides legal services to a broad array of for-profit and nonprofit social enterprises, and advises nonprofit organizations on formation, corporate governance and transactional issues.