From carbon cost to climate care: Greening our intensive care units

Figure 2 Carbon hotspots in the intensive care unit. Approximate contribution of major emission sources to the total intensive care unit (ICU) carbon footprint, based on published healthcare life-cycle assessment and sustainability reports. Energy use-predominantly heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems-accounts for the largest share, followed by medical gases, single-use devices and consumables, pharmaceuticals, and waste disposal. Ranges are illustrative as they are derived from heterogeneous studies with different system boundaries, energy mixes, allocation methods, and included emission categories; they should not be interpreted as components of a single universal ICU carbon-footprint profile. HVAC: Heating, ventilation and air conditioning.