Carbon footprint of 1 hospital bed equals that of 5 households, U of Waterloo study finds

The equivalent of running one hospital bed has been found to virtually have the same carbon footprint as five households, a new University of Waterloo study has found.

There are a number of things that contributed to this, including things like treating water, the release of anesthetic gasses, and the use of energy for lighting, heating, air conditioning and ventilation. 

There's also the impact of producing medicine cups or even pharmaceuticals and the materials needed for them. 

"So it's really quite far removed from what you actually see going on in the hospital itself," said Alex Cimprich, the lead author of the study.

Canada has committed to a 40-45 per cent emission reduction by 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Curbing carbon emissions from hospitals could play a part. 

The UW study had specifically looked at a hospital in British Columbia that had 40 beds, and divided the entire operation of the hospital by the number of beds to determine the impact of running each one. 

It had also looked at the impact of about 3,000 products in total used by the hospital, and not just medically related items, but things like coffee makers and keyboards. 

An area of healthcare that still requires studies in terms of its environmental impact, Cimprich said, is producing pharmaceuticals.

"We actually have very little good data on the carbon footprints or other environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals," he said. "It's really sparse." 

Cimprich said that one way the findings of the study could be used is to help hospitals be more conscious of how they operate. 

"I hope it's helpful to hospitals in at least making them more aware of their environmental footprint," said Cimprich.  "And thinking about their environmental footprint more systematically."

He explained that he'd like them to not only think about "the obvious things" such as the impact of waste and the use of energy or water, but to consider things like the impact of producing hospital products.