Stage 5
Measuring and Reducing Other Emissions
In Stage 5, “Measuring and Reducing Other Emissions,” the focus is on additional sources of greenhouse gas emissions that health care organizations do not directly control but can significantly influence. The following sources of emissions are categorized as either Scope 3 or 4 in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and are components of every health care delivery organization’s greenhouse gas emissions. As public awareness of climate change grows, so does the interest of patients and staff in how their health care organization supports more sustainable communities.
This stage includes actions which can improve employee satisfaction, patient engagement, and community resilience.
Stage 1
Recognizing the Benefits of Environmental Sustainability and Resilience
Stage 2
Implementing Business Practices, Organizational Planning and Accountability Structures
Stage 3
Measuring and Reporting Direct and Energy Emissions
Stage 4
Measuring and Reducing Supply Chain Emissions (Scope 3, categories 1 and 2)
Stage 5
Measuring and Reducing Other Emissions
Stage 6
Striving for Continuous Improvement
Stage 6
Striving for Continuous Improvement
Stage 4
Measuring and Reducing Supply Chain Emissions (Scope 3, categories 1 and 2)
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Actions
Assess and Reduce Physical Waste
- Assess waste streams and identify reduction opportunities (reduce, reuse, recycle, compost) by analyzing and tracking data on invoices, including volume and cost
- Provide staff with information on waste volumes and the final destinations of waste removed from the facility to promote transparency and engagement
- Measure and reduce waste from Operating Rooms and other procedure areas
- Create sensible policies for infection prevention that encourage safe reuse of medical supplies
- Review supplies to identify opportunities to reduce waste from single-use plastics
- Implement or expand device reprocessing
- Optimize purchasing of supplies to reduce unnecessary inventory
The “6th R” of sustainability: Repurposing operating room waste for community benefit
Choosing Wisely Canada
Clinical Decarbonization Prioritization Tool (Health Care Without Harm)
EPA Scope 3 Inventory Guidance
Five ways to achieve sustainable medical packaging (CAS)
GHG Protocol
GHG Protocol Online Training
Measuring Waste in Healthcare: Guidelines to baselines and indicators
SBTI
Transforming The Medical Device Industry: Road Map To A Circular Economy
Waste Audits in Healthcare: A Systematic Review and Description of Best Practices
Minimize Transportation and Distribution Emissions
- Reduce business travel emissions
- Revise business travel and meeting policies to reduce business travel emissions such as from flights and automobiles
- Maximize virtual meeting participation
- Combine trips to reduce overall travel
- Support public transportation options
- Promote low emissions/electric vehicle rental vehicles
- Revise business travel and meeting policies to reduce business travel emissions such as from flights and automobiles
- Work with distributors to reduce emissions from supply deliveries
- Work with waste haulers to reduce the number and length of trips to disposal sites
Clinical Decarbonization Prioritization Tool (Health Care Without Harm)
EPA Scope 3 Inventory Guidance
GHG Protocol
GHG Protocol Online Training
SBTI
Maximize Opportunities Related to Employee Commuting
- Reduce employee commute emissions through teleworking programs
- Identify hard-to-fill positions that could benefit from telework arrangements (e.g., phone-based advice nurses) and adjust recruitment strategy accordingly
- Promote local/regional carpool resources
- Provide preferential parking for carpoolers and for low/no emission vehicles
- Understand employee benefit tax rules related to onsite EV charging for staff
- Provide public transportation, bicycle, and walking commuter benefits
Clinical Decarbonization Prioritization Tool (Health Care Without Harm)
EPA Scope 3 Inventory Guidance
GHG Protocol
GHG Protocol Online Training
Reducing the Environmental Impact of Health Care Conferences: A Study of Emissions and Practical Solution
SBTI
Measure and Reduce Food Services Emissions
- Determine a baseline for greenhouse gas emissions per meal served and reduce this each year by specific activities, such as reducing the purchase of beef and other animal products and substituting with plant-based menu items
- Implement systems and processes to reduce food waste during preparation.
- Provide post-consumer composting
- Reduce use of single-use, disposable food packaging, dishware and utensils
- Promote local sourcing and community resilience
- Donate edible surplus food to local food recovery organizations
- Prioritize purchases of sustainably grown products
Clinical Decarbonization Prioritization Tool (Health Care Without Harm)
Coolfood Pledge
EPA Scope 3 Inventory Guidance
GHG Protocol
GHG Protocol Online Training
Plant-Forward Future resources (Practice Greenhealth)
SBTI
Maximize Telehealth
- Maximize virtual visits when they are appropriate and provide equivalent clinical value
- Use telehealth to manage and reduce risks of chronic conditions when possible
- Explore mobile clinics to deliver preventive and primary care when appropriate
- Encourage use of mail-order pharmacy
Choosing Wisely Canada
Clinical Decarbonization Prioritization Tool (Health Care Without Harm)
EPA Scope 3 Inventory Guidance
Estimated Carbon Emissions Savings With Shifts From In-Person Visits to Telemedicine for Patients With Cancer
GHG Protocol
GHG Protocol Online Training
Patient transport greenhouse gas emissions from outpatient care at an integrated health care system in the Northwestern United States, 2015–2020
SBTI
Shifting gears to green: A pilot study on decarbonizing patient transport
Travel-Related Environmental Impact of Telemedicine in a Radiation Oncology Clinic
Assess Your Investments
- Engage with your organization’s finance/treasury department to understand policies that are relevant to climate impacts incurred by investing in companies with high fossil fuel emissions
- Discuss how existing Corporate Social Responsibility/Environmental-Social-Governance (CSR/ESG) investment policies could include provisions to reduce investments that account for material levels of emissions
- Identify existing exclusion policies (e.g., tobacco companies) for applicability to large greenhouse gas emitting companies
- Educate financial leadership on the role health care organizations can play by promoting investments aligned with science-based climate targets
Carbon Accounting 101 (National Academy of Medicine)
Clinical Decarbonization Prioritization Tool (Health Care Without Harm)
EPA Scope 3 Inventory Guidance
GHG Protocol
GHG Protocol Online Training
SBTI
