IT procurement in the NHS in England produces the
carbon dioxide equivalent of 27,000 patients, says an
environmental report from the NHS Sustainable Development
Unit.
The procurement produces 320,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each
year, according to
Saving Carbon, Improving Health: A Draft Carbon Reduction Strategy
for the NHS in England.
The draft strategy aims to slash the NHS' overall carbon
emissions by 60% by 2050, but says greater use of IT could increase
the health service's environmental impact.
However, the report says greater use of teleconferencing could
cut emissions from patient travel and NHS business travel.
ICT procurement makes up just 1.7% of the English NHS' total of
18.61m tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted each year.
Read more about technology and carbon footprinting:
Scania rolls out wireless network to reduce carbon
footprint>>