non-clinical carbon calculator for general practice

By using the carbon calculator now! This will produce a carbon emissions figure that can then be used to identify key places within the practice that can be targeted to reduce emissions. A plan can be created, using the decarbonisation guide that SEE Sustainability offers, to set targets to reach decarbonisation of the practice. 

This depends on what level of data you enter into the calculator. There is an option to enter less detailed data regarding broad categories, which will take only a few minutes. 

Or you can enter more detailed data about items within the categories which will take longer but provide a more accurate result. If you use cloud accounting (such as Xero), most of the figures for the services and procurement will already be calculated and can be entered more easily.

To enter the least information, you will need the following information:

• annual kWh of electricity use
• annual kWh of gas use
• annual litres of heating oil
• number of staff
• number of patients
• overall annual spend on business services
• overall annual spend on procurement

To enter the most detailed information, you will need the following information:

• monthly kWh of electricity use
• monthly kWh of gas use
• monthly litres of heating oil
• number of staff
• number of patients
• annual spend on business services by item (e.g. accountancy, cleaning, telephone etc).
• annual spend on procurement by item (e.g. aprons, batteries, furniture etc)

Ideally someone who has access to the practice data, invoices and spend information. 

We suggest that a partner should also be involved to know what data is being inputted and the final carbon footprint figure so the action plan can be devised with their knowledge and support.

The final figure is the number of tonnes of greenhouse gases emitted by the practice over a year, which uses the metric of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent). This figure will be split into the different categories that you filled in data about, detailing how big or small the footprint of these categories are and identify hotspots of where emissions can be reduced. SEE Sustainability provides a decarbonisation guide for general practice that can be found on our website. This guide aims to make decarbonising your practice’s non-clinical emissions as easy as possible. It examines the greenhouse gas emission hotspots and works through options to implement practical actions for your practice.

The carbon calculator can be used again and again, so you can monitor your footprint as you make changes.

A carbon hotspot is an area of the practice’s footprint that is responsible for an unusually high amount of greenhouse gas emissions. If this is the case then this can be identified in the pie charts produced by the carbon calculator. These areas can then be looked into further to establish what is causing the hotspot. Using the decarbonisation guide for general practice from SEE Sustainability, changes can be made to tackle these hotspots. 

No. The data entered into the calculator is only stored on your computer and no data is transmitted or stored elsewhere. You do have the option of sharing an anonymised report with SEE Sustainability once you finish using the carbon calculator. From this report, we will not be able to identify practices. 

SEE Sustainability provides a Decarbonisation Guide for General Practice which examines greenhouse gas emissions hotspots and works through options to implement practical actions to decarbonise practices. We also offer carbon literacy training and have a specific course for primary care staff that is certified by the Carbon Literacy Project. Additionally, we offer a free guide for declaring a climate emergency. 

The carbon calculator uses the most recent government conversion factors as well as conversion factors from academic research to give the most accurate calculations for your practice. Conversion factors are converted to the correct unit to then be multiplied by the data inputted in the calculator. These calculations are then displayed on the final results page of the calculator and the different areas are broken down to show the emission hotspots. 

You can have a look at what else we offer on our website. Additionally, Green Impact for Health, Greener Practice, Greener NHS, Green Inhaler, Center for Sustainable Healthcare, UKHACC, and many other (some listed here) have useful resources.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions within a practice is part behaviour change and part technology change. When it comes to behaviour change (e.g. turning off plugs at the socket each evening), money will be saved due to saving energy, and therefore reducing energy expenses.

When it comes to technology, investments may be made for more environmentally sustainable options. These types of technology usually have a payback period and after that time the practice will have seen the return on investment from the technology and may even receive money from it (e.g. solar panels). 

No, as long as someone within your practice has access to the practice’s invoices from the past year, then it is a simple process that only requires someone to input the energy use, travel, and spent on business services and procurement. The calculator does the rest by using greenhouse gas conversion factors to calculate the footprint of the practice. 

Other practices around the country have been implementing sustainable changes that are reducing their footprints. You will be joining other practices in reducing their footprints and working towards the NHS net zero ambition.