Hospitals are places of healing, but they come with a hidden environmental cost. From energy-hungry buildings and single-use medical supplies to complex supply chains and anaesthetic gases, healthcare generates a surprisingly large carbon footprint. Globally, the health sector is responsible for nearly 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions, more than aviation or shipping. And yet, very few hospitals actually know the size or sources of their emissions.
NZHI’s first full sustainability report for the Maria Middelares-hospital group marks a milestone. The group manages 707 accredited beds across two hospital campuses and two polyclinics. In 2025, it became one of the world’s first healthcare institutions to measure its full CO₂ footprint across all major domains, including medical goods, staff transport, patient meals, waste, and pharmaceuticals. The result: 35,288.3 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions in 2024.
What makes this initiative stand out is not just the number, but the method behind it. The footprint was calculated according to the international Greenhouse Gas Protocol and covers all three emission scopes; from on-site heating and vehicle use (Scope 1), indirect emissions from energy use (Scope 2) to supply chain emissions and patient-related travel (Scope 3). Over 90% of the group’s climate impact turned out to come from indirect, upstream sources (Scope 3), far beyond what is traditionally monitored. Understanding this full footprint opens the door to smarter climate action. It enables hospitals to target the highest-impact areas, based on data rather than gut-feeling.
In this blog, we’ll explore how hospitals can measure their emissions, what insights this reveals, and how it can drive real change using NZHI’s first sustainability-report as a guiding example.
