Carbon footprinting in the healthcare industry
March 13 2013, SAFHE/CEASA Conference
Cape Town
Carbon Calculated
Founded 2008
Need for cost-effective solution
Trained in GHG Protocol (WRI & WBCSD)
- organisational
- project
- verification
- CarbonKnown
Myriad concepts
Operational boundary
Organisational boundary
Indirect emissions
Direct emissions
Scope 1, 2 &3
Emissions factors
Global warming potentials
CO2e Uplift factors
Purpose of a carbon footprint
What is a GHG?
Not just Carbon dioxide
- 6 main GHGs, incl:CO2, SF6, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs
To capture as many DIRECT GHG emissions and INDIRECT GHG emissions as possible from an organisation/product.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure”
Direct & indirect emissions
Direct emissions
Emissions from equipment that an organisation owns or has control of.
Indirect emissions
Emissions that an organisation’s activities are responsible for, but for which they do not own the equipment.-Vehicle fleet
- Air conditioning & refrigeration- Generators
-Electricity
- Air travel
- Office paper
-Commuting
- Logisitics
Emission scopes
Purposefully confusing, but does prevent double-counting!
Compulsory vs. voluntary
So how do you do it?
Emission factorTurns activity into actual GHG emissions.
Multiply the volume of activity by an emission factor
E.g. electricity
Currently Eskom EF for electricity = 0.99 kgCO2 per kWh
Vodacom SA 2011: 297 615 982kWh
= 294 640tCO2e
Carbon in healthcare
Where do the emissions lie - Mediclinic
Carbon in healthcare
Where do the emissions lie - Netcare
Carbon in healthcare
Where do the emissions lie - Mediclinic
Carbon in healthcare
Where do the emissions lie - Netcare
Benefits of carbon footprinting
1. Forced measurement of useful metrics
2. Understanding sustainability data – when, where, how
3. Controlling costs – where and how
4. Can track initiatives for improvement – esp. EE
5. Can set targets – carbon, financial, other