Carbon Hotspot Briefs: Addressing Major Sources of Carbon Emissions
There are millions of different products used in health care, but only a small percentage have been studied for environmental impacts using tools like a life cycle assessment. However, the research community has shown common patterns of which materials and processes contribute most to emissions. This resource summarizes these patterns and presents insights into the carbon emissions of a single product, which is representative of a general category of health care products. The briefs also include suggested product and process improvements to help reduce the carbon footprint. The goal is to support health care sustainability decision-makers in identifying actions that will have the greatest decarbonization benefits.
Each brief is based on a peer-reviewed study with results that are typical for the product category. The selected studies have made choices around location, product use, waste treatment approach, etc., so the results represent specific situations. Where possible, the briefs broaden the context to apply the results more generally.
What do the Distribution of Emissions graphs mean?
Each brief contains a graph that shows the percentage of greenhouse gas emissions in each stage of a product’s life cycle. Materials and processes with the highest emissions should be prioritized to have the greatest decarbonizing impact. The center of each graph shows the total carbon footprint for one item, for easy comparison between products.

How can the Carbon Hotspot Briefs be applied?
Each brief contains a list of suggested actions based on the referenced studies, related research for product categories, as well as evidence from health care systems that have implemented these actions and tracked progress. Suggestions are intended for different decision-makers across the supply chain.
Have Questions or Suggestions?
Get in Touch
If there is a product category you would like to see, please reach out to [email protected], as there are opporunities to expand this resource.
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