Abstract

BAMBAREN-ALATRISTA, Celso  and  ALATRISTA-GUTIERREZ, María del Socorro. Carbon footprint in five third-level health care centers in Peru, 2013. Rev. perú. med. exp. salud publica [online]. 2016, vol.33, n.2, pp.274-277. ISSN 1726-4634.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17843/rpmesp.2016.332.2141.

This study was performed to calculate the carbon footprint generated by third-level health care centers located in Lima, Peru, in 2013. Reports were obtained on the consumption of energy resources and water as well as on waste generation from the five centers, which contributed to climate change with an emission of 14,462 teq of CO₂. A total of 46% of these emissions were associated with fuel consumption by the powerhouse, power generators, and transport vehicles; 44% was related to energy consumption; and the remaining 10% was related to the use of water and generation of solid hospital waste. CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄ are the greenhouse gases included in the estimated carbon footprint. Our results show that hospitals have a negative environmental impact, mainly due to fossil fuel consumption.

Keywords : Hospitals; Carbon footprint; Climate change.

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