As emissions trading and the health impacts of climate change make headlines, Medical Observer, in partnership with the Carbon Reduction Institute (CRI), is offering doctors the opportunity to become low carbon or carbon neutral through a simple and financially viable process.
The Low Carbon Doctors Initiative is designed to help you reduce your carbon footprint at a level that works for you and your practice, offering a personalised audit of current emissions, guidance on the best ways to cut them down, and credible offset options.
At the end of the process, your practice will be certified Low Carbon (Low CO2) or Carbon Neutral, (No CO2) depending on the commitment you’re comfortable with. And thanks to this GP-focused initiative, the audit costs less than half the usual rate.
Practices that sign up to the initiative will receive:
- Certification
- Ongoing progress reports
- Access to a resource centre
- Practice signage including push-pull door signage and behavioural stickers.
How to get started
There are three simple steps to becoming a Low Carbon Doctor:
1. Register your interest below and a consultant from the Institute will contact you to discuss the initiative and set up a time for your practice to undergo a simple audit to assess your carbon footprint. The consultant will walk you or your staff through the audit so that it can be conducted over the phone (with support) so there is little impact to your practice and patients.
2. Reduce your carbon emissions with strategies and support from the Carbon Reduction Institute, including quarterly reports quantifying your results.
3. Offset your carbon emissions. Purchase carbon credits from credible sources through this initiative (see below for more detail).
What does it costs to become a low carbon or no carbon practice?
Low Co2:
- Audit $595 (plus GST)*
- Annual certification; $250 (plus GST)
- Carbon credits $14 / ton (current as of 14/07/2008)
No CO2:
- Audit: $995 (plus GST)*
- Annual certification: $250 (plus GST)
- Carbon credits $14 / ton (current 14/07/2008)
The costs represent more than a 50% discount off the normal costs of undergoing this process.
* These costs apply to practices with up to 15 full-time equivalent doctors. Larger practices are eligible for an independent quote by submitting an inquiry (below).
FAQ
Who is the Carbon Reduction Institute (CRI)?
CRI is accredited as a certified abatement provider by the NSW government’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme, and implements emissions accounting practices in compliance with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
CRI provides climate change consultancy services, carbon footprint calculations and supplies carbon credits to a range of business including QANTAS, CPA Australia, Accor Hotels among others, and is in partnership with Clean Up Australia.
CRI has completed audits for medical facilities as small as the seven-person Leichhardt General Practice in Sydney, and as large as Victoria’s 250-staff Western Region Health Centre.
How does the audit work?
The audit is done remotely and requires the practice to provide CRI with financial data required to calculate your carbon footprint. Once a GP or practice registers interest below, an auditor will contact the practice to determine the scope of the audit, dates for data delivery and to discuss the practice’s operation.
The consultant will provide the practice with a data collection email, once all the data is collected, CRI will generate the calculations and report. Some data will require the completion of surveys: these surveys can be provided by email or fax.
Within three working days from delivery of the report a phone consultation is provided to discuss reduction strategies. The practice will also be provided with a certification plan that allows the practice to become part of the Low Carbon Doctors Initiative.
How long does it take?
Once the date for data collection has been determined CRI will provide the practice with a schedule, detailing the date the report will be returned, and the follow up call regarding reduction strategies and the certification options available.
A report will be delivered within two working weeks from scheduled data collection date.
There are different data collection requirements depending on the certification desired. The data required is based on the previous financial year:
LowCO2.
- Electricity use
- Gas use
- Staff travel survey (to be completed by all staff, taking each staff member no more than 5 minutes to complete)
- Waste survey
- Details of any flights taken
NoCO2
- All LowCO2 data requirements
- Expenses (expenses and cost of sales from P&L)
- Assets/depreciation schedule
What is the practice’s ongoing commitment in this initiative?
Once certified the practice commits to providing information on a quarterly basis for the most dynamic and major emission sources. These will usually be flights and electricity. CRI will advise the best strategies and ways to reduce carbon emissions depending on the results of the audit.
CRI can then calculate the volume of carbon credits needed to offset the practice’s emissions. The aim is to reduce costs and waste in the practice to help cover the cost of carbon credits. Ongoing involvement is encouraged but at any time, the practice can withdraw from the program.
Each year CRI will update the full carbon footprint calculation; this will require the collection of all data as listed in the initial audit.
How much can we expect to pay for the credits?
The amount the practice pays to offset its carbon footprint depends on the emissions measured each year. As an example, the Leichhardt General Practice in Sydney which conducted an audit in May has an annual carbon footprint of about 77 tons.
Based on current carbon credits used by CRI ($14 per ton), this practice would pay about $1100.00 to offset its carbon footprint this year. This amount would reduce as the practice reduces its footprint as a result of low-carbon strategies adopted through this initiative.
Does it affect my patients?
This Initiative will assist you in educating your patients on the effects of climate change. There should be no other impact on or disruption to your patients.
By being a leader doctors will set an example for other doctors, patients, and their local communities, helping them understand and reduce their impact on our climate.
What is Medical Observer’s involvement?
MO is working with the Carbon Reduction Institute to promote the Low Carbon Doctors Initiative. We believe that climate change is an issue affecting all industries and that doctors can provide much-needed awareness about global warming, and the associated social, and health issues.
Medical Observer receives no financial benefit from this initiative.
Where do the fees go?
The upfront audit fee and annual certification fees go toward the operational costs of providing such services: the money for the carbon credits is provided to the project with a 20% brokerage for CRI.
How do I know the carbon credits are credible?
The abatement projects that generate carbon credits are assessed under the criteria listed below; the methodology must follow international standard 14064 and be independently verified.
Financially additional: The money from the Carbon Credits was required to make the project occur and without the funds the project would have never started.
Environmentally additional: The project is additional to natural or mandated reductions that would occur whether the project was run or not.
Leakage: No other emissions occur as a result of the project, which are not taken into account in the project calculations.
Permanence: The project must be permanent as such those emissions must not be able to be released back into the atmosphere.
Additional Benefits: The additional environmental or humanitarian benefits that the project brings are also calculated in determining the value of the credit.