According to Health Care Without Harm's 2019 Climate Footprint report, healthcare accounts for 8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 4.4% globally.
The operating room is a major point of emissions, responsible for up to 40% of a hospital's greenhouse gas output, largely due to long-lasting anesthetic gasses like nitrous oxide, according to the release.
Here are 16 facilities cutting their emissions by targeting pollutant anesthetic gasses in 2024:
1. Project Spruce, a consortium of nine pediatric hospitals, has successfully cut greenhouse gas emissions from inhaled anesthetics by over 50% across its nine partners. The project has since expanded to include 12 institutions.
2. Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health became the first system in the state to stop using desflurane, one of the most environmentally harmful gasses used as an inhaled anesthetic.
3. Columbus-based OhioHealth became the first health system in central Ohio to eliminate desflurane entirely, opting for the more environmentally friendly sevoflurane.
4. Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Health largely phased out desflurane. The center reported that it has cut its emissions over the past five years from more than 1 million kilograms to less than 100,000.
5. Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine is also phasing out desflurane. In May, the system announced that the gas had already been phased out at four of its six hospitals, and the remaining two would follow suit by the end of 2024.