How Some Hospitals Joined Forces to Reduce Anesthesia-Related Emissions

When anesthesiologist Elizabeth Hansen, MD, PhD, joined Seattle Children’s Hospital about seven years ago, she jumped into the medical center’s sustainability efforts and became concerned about what she saw. Anesthetic gases made up 7% of the hospital’s greenhouse gas emissions—the third-highest contributor following those from commuting and natural gases used in steam boilers—representing more than 1,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.