Healthcare in a carbon-constrained world

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate E. Charlesworth ◽  
Maggie Jamieson
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Predictive Analytics ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Models Of Care ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Thought Leaders

Objective The climate crisis necessitates urgent decarbonisation. The health sector must address its large carbon footprint. In the present study, we sought healthcare thought leaders’ views about a future environmentally sustainable health system. Methods The present study was a qualitative exploratory study consisting of semistructured, in-depth interviews with 15 healthcare thought leaders from Australia, the UK, the US and New Zealand. Audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analysed by matrix display and thematic analysis. Results Overall, healthcare thought leaders believe that to reduce the carbon footprint of healthcare we need to look beyond traditional ‘green’ initiatives towards a more fundamental and longer-term redesign. Five main themes and one ‘key enabler’ (information communication technology) were identified. In this paper we draw on other relevant findings, but chiefly focus on the fifth theme about reshaping the role of healthcare within society and using the size and influence of the health sector to leverage wider health, environmental and societal benefits. Conclusions These ideas represent potentially low-carbon models of care. The next step would be to pilot and measure the outcomes (health, environmental, financial) of these models. What is known about the topic? The health sector needs to reduce its large carbon footprint. Traditional ‘green’ initiatives, such as recycling and improving energy efficiency, are insufficient to achieve the scale of decarbonisation required. What does this paper add? Healthcare thought leaders surveyed in the present study suggested that we also consider other, non-traditional ways to achieve environmental sustainability. In this paper we discuss their ideas about adopting an anticipatory approach to healthcare using predictive analytics, and using the size and influence of the health sector to effect wider health and environmental benefits. What are the implications for practitioners? Achieving an environmentally sustainable healthcare system is likely to require broad and fundamental (i.e. transformational) change to the current service model. Health practitioners throughout the sector must be closely engaged in this process.

Sustainable Housing Design: Measurement, Motivation, and Management in Sutherland Shire, Sydney, Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Robinson ◽  
David Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Housing Design ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
Government Education ◽  
The Status ◽  
Sydney Australia

This paper reports on an in-depth study of the status of sustainable housing design (SHD), in Sutherland Shire, Sydney, Australia. The motives and attitudes of key stakeholders towards SHD were identified. Also investigated was the feasibility of an Ecological Sustainability Index (ESI) developed by Sutherland Shire Council, to assist as a tool for the assessment of residential developments. Residential surveys, reviews of development applications, and interviews with housing professionals all indicated that the status of environmentally sustainable housing in the area was inadequate and was not improving. Despite an overwhelming majority of people supporting the principles and goals of environmental sustainability this did not translate into practice in terms of SHD. This indicates that government education and financial incentives to include SHD features in new homes were not sufficient to affect significantly decisions made by stakeholders during the development process. The findings support the use of simple and flexible sustainability tools such as the ESI in this area, with obvious potential in broader contexts. This study suggests the need for initiatives such as an ESI to provide gradual cumulative environmental benefits towards sustainable cities in Australia and internationally, provided that they receive the necessary political will, and public and local government administrative support for sufficient implementation. The study also raises a wider agenda for interdisciplinary research into sustainable design indices.

scholarly journals Reimagining the Archival Control Model of the National Archives of Australia for the Digital Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-105
Author(s):  
Carey Garvie
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Digital Preservation ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Control Model ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
University Of Houston ◽  
National Archives ◽  
National Archives Of Australia ◽  
The University

The University of Houston Libraries previously had no data surrounding the environmental sustainability of its digital preservation program. We set out to gather this data and package it in a way that can be communicated easily to stakeholders such as Libraries administration. Additionally, we explore ways that the digital preservation program could become more environmentally sustainable in the future, and we provide actionable recommendations that other digital preservationists can quickly and easily implement to reduce the carbon footprint of their organization's digital preservation program.

scholarly journals Trade implications of grid emission factors under climate change and the green economy: Comparative study of African and Asian continents

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chipo Mukonza ◽  
Godwell Nhamo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Emission Factors ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Trading Partners ◽  
Trade Competitiveness

Trade, climate change, and the green economy are aspects that converge on the carbon footprint of organisations, products and countries. The carbon footprint is in turn linked directly to the grid emission factors (GEFs) of a country or sub-regions within that country. In an epoch where global citizens are increasingly aware of the adverse impacts of high greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming, low carbon footprints are likely to attract greater trade opportunities. African and Asian countries have embraced the green economy to address economic development, environmental management and social equity challenges. The advent of the green economy means that trade is likely to result in the more efficient allocation of natural resources, as well as improved access to green goods, services and technologies. Through the examination and analysis of publicly available and accessible data and documents, this article seeks to compare the ‘green’ trade competitiveness of Asian and African economies as measured through carbon footprints. The results of the study show that Africa is relatively cleaner than Asia. Therefore, ceteris paribus, if GEFs are used to determine trading partners, Africa stands a better chance. The research findings can be used to make informed strategic trade decision in favour of environmental sustainability.

The Existence of Geothermal Energy in Communication Perspective and Sustainable Environment in Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
Indriyati Kamil ◽  
Oekan S Abdoellah ◽  
Herlina Agustin ◽  
Iriana Bakti
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Nature Reserves ◽  
Communication Model ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Communication Models ◽  
The Government

This article highlights the dynamics of geothermal energy in the Kamojang nature reserve in Indonesia. A nature reserve is a conservation area that must be protected and preserved, because it has unique flora and fauna, and rare ecosystems whose existence is threatened with extinction. After going through a long study process by an integrated team, the government finally made a policy to change the function of the nature reserve into a Nature Tourism Park. Changes in policy changes to the function of nature reserves cause pros and cons in the community, and cause conflicts between government and environmental activists. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that cause changes in the function of nature reserves into natural tourism parks in the Kamojang conservation area of Indonesia, as well as to identify appropriate communication models in the management of geothermal energy through communication and environmentally sustainable approaches. Research findings show that the factors that cause changes in the function of nature reserves into tourist parks include; the interests of geothermal energy to meet national energy needs and electricity infrastructure, accommodate the needs of surrounding communities that utilize water resources in conservation areas, and restore ecosystems. The communication model for geothermal energy management that we propose at the same time is also a novelty namely; ecopopulism approach, negotiation approach, collaboration, and equating meaning and orientation to environmental sustainability. Type of Paper: Empirical Keywords: Geothermal Energy, Nature Reserves, Conservation Policies, Communication Models and Sustainable Development.

EXPRESS: Sustainable by Design: Choice Architecture and the Carbon Footprint of Grocery Shopping

2021 ◽  
pp. 074391562110088
Author(s):  
Luca Panzone ◽  
Alistair Ulph ◽  
Denis Hilton ◽  
Ilse Gortemaker ◽  
Ibrahim Tajudeen
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Grocery Shopping ◽  
Choice Architecture ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Policy Objective ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Design Choice ◽  
Goal Priming

The increase in global temperatures requires substantial reductions in the greenhouse emissions from consumer choices. We use an experimental incentive-compatible online supermarket to analyse the effect of a carbon-based choice architecture, which presents commodities to customers in high, medium and low carbon footprint groups, in reducing the carbon footprints of grocery baskets. We relate this choice architecture to two other policy interventions: a bonus-malus carbon tax on all grocery products; and moral goal priming, using an online banner noting the moral importance of reducing one’s carbon footprint. Participants shopped from their home in an online store containing 612 existing food products and 39 existing non-food products for which we had data on carbon footprint, over three successive weeks, with the interventions occurring in the second and third weeks. Choice architecture reduced carbon footprint significantly in the third week by reducing the proportion of choices made in the high-carbon aisle. The carbon tax reduced carbon footprint in both weeks, primarily by reducing overall spend. The goal priming banner led to a small reduction in carbon footprint in the second week only. Thus, the design of the marketplace plays an important role in achieving the policy objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

scholarly journals Translating a Global Emission-Reduction Framework for Subnational Climate Action: A Case Study from the State of Georgia

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-227
Author(s):  
Marilyn A. Brown ◽  
Blair Beasley ◽  
Fikret Atalay ◽  
Kim M. Cobb ◽  
Puneet Dwiveldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Global Solutions ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Carbon Reduction ◽  
Global Emission ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Reduction ◽  
Climate Action

AbstractSubnational entities are recognizing the need to systematically examine options for reducing their carbon footprints. However, few robust and comprehensive analyses are available that lay out how US states and regions can most effectively contribute. This paper describes an approach developed for Georgia—a state in the southeastern United States called “Drawdown Georgia”, our research involves (1) understanding Georgia’s baseline carbon footprint and trends, (2) identifying the universe of Georgia-specific carbon-reduction solutions that could be impactful by 2030, (3) estimating the greenhouse gas reduction potential of these high-impact 2030 solutions for Georgia, and (4) estimating associated costs and benefits while also considering how the solutions might impact societal priorities, such as economic development opportunities, public health, environmental benefits, and equity. We began by examining the global solutions identified by Project Drawdown. The resulting 20 high-impact 2030 solutions provide a strategy for reducing Georgia’s carbon footprint in the next decade using market-ready technologies and practices and including negative emission solutions. This paper describes our systematic and replicable process and ends with a discussion of its strengths, weaknesses, and planned future research.

scholarly journals The Tapio Decoupling Principle and Key Strategies for Changing Factors of Chinese Urban Carbon Footprint Based on Cloud Computing

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 2101
Author(s):  
Min Shang ◽  
Ji Luo
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Cloud Computing ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Driving Factors ◽  
City Size ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Marginal Effect ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Xi’An City

The expansion of Xi’an City has caused the consumption of energy and land resources, leading to serious environmental pollution problems. For this purpose, this study was carried out to measure the carbon carrying capacity, net carbon footprint and net carbon footprint pressure index of Xi’an City, and to characterize the carbon sequestration capacity of Xi’an ecosystem, thereby laying a foundation for developing comprehensive and reasonable low-carbon development measures. This study expects to provide a reference for China to develop a low-carbon economy through Tapio decoupling principle. The decoupling relationship between CO2 and driving factors was explored through Tapio decoupling model. The time-series data was used to calculate the carbon footprint. The auto-encoder in deep learning technology was combined with the parallel algorithm in cloud computing. A general multilayer perceptron neural network realized by a parallel BP learning algorithm was proposed based on Map-Reduce on a cloud computing cluster. A partial least squares (PLS) regression model was constructed to analyze driving factors. The results show that in terms of city size, the variable importance in projection (VIP) output of the urbanization rate has a strong inhibitory effect on carbon footprint growth, and the VIP value of permanent population ranks the last; in terms of economic development, the impact of fixed asset investment and added value of the secondary industry on carbon footprint ranks third and fourth. As a result, the marginal effect of carbon footprint is greater than that of economic growth after economic growth reaches a certain stage, revealing that the driving forces and mechanisms can promote the growth of urban space.

scholarly journals The Impact of Environmental Sustainability Labels on Willingness-to-Pay for Foods: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Discrete Choice Experiments

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2677
Author(s):  
Anastasios Bastounis ◽  
John Buckell ◽  
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce ◽  
Brian Cook ◽  
Sarah King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Discrete Choice ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Purchasing Power Parity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Choice Experiments ◽  
Discrete Choice Experiments ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
The Impact

Food production is a major contributor to environmental damage. More environmentally sustainable foods could incur higher costs for consumers. In this review, we explore whether consumers are willing to pay (WTP) more for foods with environmental sustainability labels (‘ecolabels’). Six electronic databases were searched for experiments on consumers’ willingness to pay for ecolabelled food. Monetary values were converted to Purchasing Power Parity dollars and adjusted for country-specific inflation. Studies were meta-analysed and effect sizes with confidence intervals were calculated for the whole sample and for pre-specified subgroups defined as meat-dairy, seafood, and fruits-vegetables-nuts. Meta-regressions tested the role of label attributes and demographic characteristics on participants’ WTP. Forty-three discrete choice experiments (DCEs) with 41,777 participants were eligible for inclusion. Thirty-five DCEs (n = 35,725) had usable data for the meta-analysis. Participants were willing to pay a premium of 3.79 PPP$/kg (95%CI 2.7, 4.89, p ≤ 0.001) for ecolabelled foods. WTP was higher for organic labels compared to other labels. Women and people with lower levels of education expressed higher WTP. Ecolabels may increase consumers’ willingness to pay more for environmentally sustainable products and could be part of a strategy to encourage a transition to more sustainable diets.

scholarly journals A Novel and Efficient Metal Oxide Fluoride Absorbent for Drinking Water Safety and Sustainable Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 883
Author(s):  
Changjuan Dong ◽  
Xiaomei Wu ◽  
Zhanyi Gao ◽  
Peiling Yang ◽  
Mohd Yawar Ali Khan
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Metal Oxide ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Langmuir Model ◽  
Maximum Adsorption Capacity ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Solution Ph

Inefficient and non-environmentally friendly absorbent production can lead to much resource waste and go against low carbon and sustainable development. A novel and efficient Mg-Fe-Ce (MFC) complex metal oxide absorbent of fluoride ion (F−) removal was proposed for safe, environmentally friendly, and sustainable drinking water management. A series of optimization and preparation processes for the adsorbent and batch experiments (e.g., effects of solution pH, adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, effects of coexisting anions, as well as surface properties tests) were carried out to analyze the characteristics of the adsorbent. The results indicated that optimum removal of F− occurred in a pH range of 4–5.5, and higher adsorption performances also happened under neutral pH conditions. The kinetic data under 10 and 50 mg·g−1 were found to be suitable for the pseudo-second-order adsorption rate model, and the two-site Langmuir model was ideal for adsorption isotherm data as compared to the one-site Langmuir model. According to the two-site Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacity calculated at pH 7.0 ± 0.2 was 204 mg·g−1. The adsorption of F− was not affected by the presence of sulfate (SO42−), nitrate (NO3−), and chloride (Cl−), which was suitable for practical applications in drinking water with high F− concentration. The MFC adsorbent has an amorphous structure, and there was an exchange reaction between OH− and F−. The novel MFC adsorbent was proven to have higher efficiency, better economy, and environmental sustainability, and be more environmentally friendly.

scholarly journals Prospects for land-use sustainability on the agricultural frontier of the Brazilian Amazon

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1619) ◽  
pp. 20120171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian L. Galford ◽  
Britaldo Soares-Filho ◽  
Carlos E. P. Cerri
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
State Government ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations

The Brazilian Amazon frontier shows how remarkable leadership can work towards increased agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability without new greenhouse gas emissions. This is due to initiatives among various stakeholders, including national and state government and agents, farmers, consumers, funding agencies and non-governmental organizations. Change has come both from bottom-up and top-down actions of these stakeholders, providing leadership, financing and monitoring to foster environmental sustainability and agricultural growth. Goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land-cover and land-use change in Brazil are being achieved through a multi-tiered approach that includes policies to reduce deforestation and initiatives for forest restoration, as well as increased and diversified agricultural production, intensified ranching and innovations in agricultural management. Here, we address opportunities for the Brazilian Amazon in working towards low-carbon rural development and environmentally sustainable landscapes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document