Fostering Low-Carbon Healthcare

The project is completed. This pilot project aimed to enable and support European hospitals to track emissions from their activities. In doing so, they were able to quantify their environmental impact and set emission reduction targets. The project placed specific emphasis on anesthetic gases, as a relatively unexplored source of GHG emissions.

Economy Sustainable Economy

Healthcare climate action

Project info

Countries:

France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden

Project duration:

10/17 - 03/18

Target groups:

-

Funding:

92,643.34 €

Contact info

Contact:

Anja Leetz

Email:

-

Partner:
-

Background

In order for the EU to meet its 2030 climate and energy package targets, countries must set national goals for different economic sectors. While healthcare makes up an estimated 5% of European GHG emissions, very few health systems have measured their carbon footprint or set emission reduction targets. To be able to set national and European targets for the healthcare sector, the sector must first track and measure its emissions. Very little data about carbon emissions from the European healthcare sector (especially those from the use of anaesthetic gases) currently exists.

The project seeks to enable and support European hospitals to track emissions from their activities, Photo: ©Health Care Without Harm Europe 2017

Project

HCWH Europe will work with hospitals from France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden to measure emissions and share data. Two experts, who are experienced in technical data and interpretation of data, will provide training and expertise to the participating hospitals. As part of the project, a software consultant will also develop a tool for measuring and calculating the carbon equivalent of anaesthetic gases specifically. While tools to quantify GHG emissions from energy use are available across multiple sectors, the use of anaesthetic gases is unique to the healthcare sector and tools to calculate emissions from their use are not widely available. The development of this tool will facilitate the healthcare sector’s ability to focus on these GHG emissions and track hospitals’ progress in reducing them. At the end of this project, HCWH Europe will publish guidelines and policy recommendations in 2018. Based on data from the measurement tool, a section specifically on anaesthetic gases will be included. These guidelines and recommendations will be the basis for scaling up the project, and for laying the foundation for the setting up of carbon reduction targets in healthcare at a national level in Europe.

State of Results

  • Guidelines and policy recommendations for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in healthcare were developed and published in English, German, French and Spanish for a wide professional audience.
  • A software tool for measuring and calculating CO2 equivalents in the use of anaesthetic gases was developed and emissions data in 6 pilot hospitals were collected and analysed.
  • The guidelines and briefing paper will be the basis for scaling up the project. Besides laying the groundwork for carbon reduction in hospitals in Europe, they can also be used for the discussion with policy makers both at national and European level. The guidance and policy documents produced as a result of this project will also form the basis for:
  1. Action from EHCC hospitals to track and reduce their carbon emissions.
  2. Increased advocacy by EHCC members to policymakers.
  3. The development of future materials by HCWH to help members implement carbon reduction projects and initiatives.

From the project

Guiding principles from a pilot project: How to get started on carbon footprinting in European Healthcare (German French Spanish)

Sustainable anaesthetic practice for Europe: Briefing (German French Spanish)

Last update: March 2024