Exciting news! After many months of planning, the first weekly report on your anesthesia gas-related carbon footprint will appear in your inbox today! You can track your carbon emissions as we move towards our division’s goal of a 50 percent reduction within one year. The “SLCH CO2 Dashboard” allows individuals, identified by NPI number, to see how they are faring compared to their peers. You will also be able to see details of your footprint by specialty.
In this video, we explain how to view and understand your personalized report.
One of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to decrease or completely stop the use of nitrous oxide. The impact of 1 kg of N2O on warming the atmosphere is 265 times that of 1 kg of carbon dioxide. Also, nitrous oxide molecules stay in the atmosphere for an average of 121 years, which means that the gas you used today for your mask induction will still be around and heating the planet for your great-great-grandchildren in the year 2144! In the UK, nitrous oxide comprises 75% of the total anesthetic greenhouse gas footprint of the NHS. They found that 96-100% of N2O was wasted from piped supplies and never reached a patient. Decommissioning piped N2O and switching to tanks as a substitute saved money – and benefited the environment.
Please email Anest.Reporting@email.wustl.edu if you need technical assistance accessing your report. Alex Kronzer can be reached at akronzer@wustl.edu if you have difficulty with interpreting what you see. Future editions of this newsletter will highlight the progress of the division and of individuals. We’re excited to see what our division can achieve!