A STUDY showing the NHS discharges nearly a quarter of Scotland’s public-sector greenhouse gas has led to new targets being proposed to cut the emissions.
The report, commissioned by Health Facilities Scotland, discovered that the health service produced 2.63 megatonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
Procurement in 2004, including everything from the energy needed to produce medicines to catering and freight transport, represented 52% of the total. Within procurement, the production of pharmaceuticals and medical instruments accounted for 25% of the gas.
Travel, including patient and staff transport, accounted for 24% of CO, while heating and lighting buildings made up 23%. Although C0 emissions fell by 4% from 1990 levels, the decline was uneven. While emissions from buildings’ energy fell by 34%, those from procurement rose by 20%.
As a result, the Scottish Government is proposing new targets to monitor health boards’ progress in reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency. Driving down procurement emissions will be a key priority.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced the initiative on a visit to Ninewells Hospital, in Dundee. She said: “Today's carbon footprint report for NHS Scotland gives us a snapshot of how our emissions are broken down and a firm base to work from as we seek to reduce them.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland chief executive Duncan McLaren said: “We're pleased to see NHS Scotland taking its responsibility for managing greenhouse gas emissions seriously.
“This report sets a particularly good example for others in including all the emissions the NHS can influence, including those arising from procurement and from patient and visitor travel.”
Ms Sturgeon also heard yesterday about NHS Tayside efforts to cut its own COemissions.
Its 14,000 staff will be told of the campaign through posters and leaflets.
NHS Tayside is also replacing more than 400 IT monitors with flat panel screens which consume 70% less power. The health board is working with the Carbon Trust to reduce emissions by 20% in the next four years.