Material consumption in the healthcare sector: Strategies to reduce its impact on climate change—The case of Region Scania in South Sweden

The healthcare sector constitutes a major part of the economy of developed nations and consumes significant quantities of consumables. The Region Scania commissioned IIIEE, Lund University, to develop a management tool for strategic decision-making in order to reduce the climate impact indirectly derived from material consumption. The tool was streamlined to fit operational conditions at Region Scania and used to study four consumables to obtain a figure on their emissions of CO2 from a life cycle perspective. Strategies to reduce the impact on climate derived from consumption were studied and recommended to Region Scania. It was concluded that considerable reductions of the impact on climate change could be achieved by implementing good housekeeping in working routines and by addressing green purchasing to prevent inefficient consumption patterns.