Emissions Scopes 1, 2 and 3
Scope 1 - All Direct GHG Emissions
Scope 1 emissions (direct emissions) are produced from sources within the boundary of an organisation, and as a result of that organisation’s activities, and are calculated at the point of emission release. These include emissions from the use of anaesthetic gases and natural gas for heating by hospitals, and fuel use in vehicles owned by hospitals, such as ambulances and
other patient transport.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) categorises emissions as direct and indirect.
Direct and indirect emissions are defined as follows:
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Direct GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions are emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the reporting entity.
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Indirect GHG emissions are emissions that are a consequence of the activities of the reporting entity but occur at sources owned or controlled by another entity.
To measure and track our success in reducing health system greenhouse gas emissions, we need robust, periodically updated, consistent and sufficiently granular estimates of current emissions levels. This section lays out how greenhouse gas emissions are categorised, explaining what is included in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and how health system emissions can be measured at both the organisation level and at the product level, through life cycle assessments.
It then reports on how health system emissions are currently measured through the Government’s National Greenhouse Accounts and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme and by states
and territories.
Scope 2 - Indirect GHG Emissions from Electricity
Scope 2 emissions (energy-related indirect emissions) occur outside the boundary of an organisation from the generation of electricity consumed by the organisation. They are physically produced by burning fuels (such as coal and natural gas) at the power station to create the electricity – for instance, the emissions associated with producing electricity purchased
for use in hospitals.
Scope 3 - Other Indirect Emissions
Scope 3 emissions (other indirect emissions) are indirect emissions, other than electricity (scope 2) occurring outside the boundary of an organisation because of action by the organisation. Scope 3 emissions may occur:
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Upstream: For example, a hospital’s upstream scope 3 emissions include those emissions generated in the manufacture of medical equipment used by the hospital, or by hospital staff commuting to work.
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Downstream: For example, a hospital’s downstream scope 3 emissions include those emissions generated from the incineration of its waste offsite.
Measurement of Health System Emissions
Health system greenhouse gas emissions can be estimated in a ‘bottom-up’ or ‘top-down’ way.
‘Bottom-up’ estimates are based on the measurement of units of activity or other physical
quantities – for instance, litres of fuel consumed, tonnes of waste incinerated, or prescriptions of
metered dose inhalers dispensed. These physical quantities are then multiplied by an ‘emissions
factor’ to obtain an estimate of the resulting greenhouse gas emissions.
‘Top-down’ estimates start at a more macro level, for example, using expenditure in a given
area, multiplied by an emissions factor, to yield an emissions estimate. Top-down estimates often
make use of environmentally extended input-output models to map emissions based on one sector’s consumption of another sector’s goods.
