Carbon Footprint Analysis Of Healthcare Products
In 2021-22 the NHS’s carbon footprint was 21.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent with 62% of its emissions being embedded in its supply chain. To address this carbon hotspot, the NHS has developed the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap which will require all companies supplying the NHS to carbon footprint their products from 2028.
What Is A Carbon Footprint Analysis Of A Healthcare Product?
A product carbon footprint analysis estimates the direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated during a product’s full life cycle, from extraction of raw materials to end of life. It includes the seven greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e).
Why is A Carbon Footprint Analysis Of A Healthcare Product Important?
If you manufacture healthcare products, analysing your product’s carbon footprint will help your company understand its product climate change impact, identify the carbon hotspots in its life cycle and subsequently highlight options for carbon reduction. Medical and non-medical equipment make up 18% of NHS England’s carbon footprint, if the NHS is to make it to net zero by 2045, suppliers must ensure their products are as low carbon as possible.
Healthcare organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental credibility of their products, and from 2028 new requirements will be introduced to the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap which will focus on carbon footprinting for individual products supplied to the NHS. Product carbon footprinting will meet the requirements, help your customers get a more accurate understanding of their supply chain emissions, open up opportunities for reducing your products GHG emissions and enhance your reputation as a responsible steward of resources
What Is Involved In A Carbon FootPrint Analysis?
The CSH team will undertake a process-based cradle-to-grave carbon footprint analysis of your product and its packaging in line with GHG Protocol, measuring the total GHG impact from raw material extraction through to manufacturing, transportation, usage and disposal.
CSH can support you with:
- Data collection: we’ll take you through the data collection process to help you identify which resources need to be measured and what data sources are needed.
- Measurement: we’ll estimate your product’s carbon footprint based on the resource use during the product’s lifecycle, in line with the GHG Protocol
- Analysis and report: the results will be written up in a report, breaking down the GHG emissions according to the product’s lifecycle stages and sources, identifying carbon hotspots
- Interpretation: we’ll take you through the results of your product’s carbon footprint and explain the hotspots to help you fully understand your impact and enable you to address it
- Modelling of pathway impact: If the introduction of your product is changing the process of a clinical pathway, we can model the impact of the change on the GHG emissions embedded in the pathway/service.
Who Is This Service For?
Any organisation looking to understand the GHG emissions’ impact of their healthcare products.
Success stories
- Evaluating the environmental impact before and after introducing Dora, an AI technology delivering autonomous phone conversations, to the cataract surgery pathway at four sites in England.
How Much Does A Product Carbon Footprint Analysis Cost?
Each healthcare provider throughout the sector is unique and will have a variety of needs and requirements. Our team of experts will work with you to make sure we meet the individual needs of your supply chain or business.
Please contact Ingeborg Steinbach, CSH's Lead Sustainability Analyst for a bespoke quote for your organisation.