Supply chain & logistics Sustainable supply
Corporate efforts to reduce environmental impact through policies targeted at limiting CO2 output and dependence on fossil fuels come under the umbrella of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) – and sustainability throughout the supply chain is a significant part of that. Kim Thomas speaks to Dr Amy Booth of the University of Oxford to find out how significant supply chains are in the journey to become carbon neutral.
H
ealthcare systems in the world’s largest economies are responsible, on average, for nearly 5% of a nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. If the global healthcare sector was a country, it would be the fifth largest polluter on earth. Tackling carbon emissions is now a priority for many healthcare systems. NHS England has set a net zero target of 2040 for the emissions it controls directly, and 2045 for the emissions of supply chain companies it can influence. Net zero involves cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible. It differs from another frequently used term, carbon neutrality, which refers to balancing an organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions against measures to offset those emissions, for example by planting trees. A large chunk of the NHS’s emissions (25%) comes from medicines, with anaesthetic gases and
metered dose inhalers making up one fifth of that chunk. The remaining 20% of emissions from medicines, according to an NHS document, are “primarily found in the manufacturing and freight inherent in the supply chain”. The NHS’s ambitious net zero commitment of necessity requires pharmaceutical suppliers to reduce their carbon emissions, who in turn require their suppliers to reduce their carbon emissions.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) defines three scopes of emission, which can be used to measure an organisation’s carbon output. Scope 1 refers to direct emissions from owned or directly controlled sources on site; scope 2 refers to indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, mostly electricity; scope 3 refers to all other indirect emissions that occur in producing and transporting goods and services, including the full supply chain.
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