Emission sources and subitems mentioned by the participants (created by the authors)
| Mentioned emission sources* | Most frequently mentioned subitems of the emission sources† |
| Energy (n=21) | Heating and cooling (n=15) |
| Medical devices (eg, MRI or CT scans) (n=7) | |
| Sterilisation and laundry (n=5) | |
| Waste (n=17) | Packaging waste (n=6) |
| Disposable medical instruments, especially their disposal (n=6) | |
| Waste incineration (n=3) | |
| Mobility (n=10) | Mobility of staff (n=4) |
| Hospital’s fleet and logistics (n=4) | |
| Mobility of patients (n=2) | |
| All other | Anaesthetic gases (n=5) |
| Pharmaceuticals (n=4) | |
| Food (n=4) | |
| Disinfectants and detergents (n=3) | |
| Paper (n=2) | |
| Water purification (n=1) |
*n indicates the number of participants who mentioned the listed categories of emission sources or subitems (categories and subitems were created inductively; qualitative data were counted and reflected with numerical data to illustrate trends).
†Subitems were formed from responses to the following open-ended question: ‘Which sources contribute strongly to a hospital’s GHG emissions, for example, this hospital?’.
GHG, greenhouse gas.