Pharmacy carbon footprint: 10 steps to your first carbon footprint

Why climate protection is health protection

Before we get into the technology: As a pharmacist, you know better than most how environmental factors can affect health. Climate change is no longer an abstract problem for the future - it is making people ill. Today. Here. The health consequences are measurable:

• Heatwaves lead to more cardiovascular problems
• Longer pollen seasons increase allergies
• Extreme weather puts a strain on the psyche
• New pathogens are spreading
• Air pollution exacerbates respiratory diseases

Anyone who helps people to get and stay healthy every day has a special responsibility. Climate protection is health protection, which is precisely why a CO₂ balance sheet belongs in every modern pharmacy.

Why a CO₂ balance sheet for pharmacies at all?

An average pharmacy produces around 25-27 tons of CO₂ equivalents per year. Does that sound abstract? It is. But only when you know where these emissions come from, in which areas of your business they arise, can you do something about them. For the climate. For the health of your customers. And also for your image.

Step 1: Draw boundaries for the pharmacy CO₂ balance sheet

Before you start calculating, you need to know what is involved:

• Your pharmacy (salesroom, laboratory, warehouse, office)
• A complete year (preferably the last financial year)
• Everything that belongs to your business

Our tip: Do you have several branches? Start with one. Better a clean balance sheet than an Excel mess.

Step 2: Scope 1 - What happens directly at your company

This is where it gets specific. Scope 1 includes all emissions that occur directly in your pharmacy:

• Heating (gas, oil)
• Your delivery vehicle and company cars (if available)
• Air conditioning and refrigeration (important for medicines!)
• Emergency generator

You now need the so-called activity data for the calculation. Sounds complicated, but it's not: just look at your energy bills and fuel receipts. The figures are already there - you just need to write them down.

Step 3: Scope 2 - The purchased electricity in the CO₂ balance sheet

This is usually the easiest part. Scope 2 is essentially your electricity consumption and all grid-bound energy (district heating, for example). But be careful: do you already use green electricity? This makes a big difference to the pharmacy's carbon footprint.

Where can you find the activity data? Your electricity bill is your friend. Write out kWh consumption, done. Pharmacies often consume between 15,000-30,000 kWh per year, based on area figures of 120-150 kWh per square meter.

Health tip: Green electricity is not only good for the climate - it also reduces air pollution from coal-fired power plants. Less particulate matter means fewer respiratory diseases in your region.

Step 4: Scope 3 - The largest item in the pharmacy CO₂ balance sheet

Now comes the part where it gets complicated. Scope 3 are all indirect emissionsrelated to your pharmacy:

• Medicines and goods: The biggest item! Production and transportation of all medicines
• Packaging: Medicine boxes, bags, package inserts
• Routes to work: How do you and your employees get to work?
• Waste: Particularly relevant for hazardous waste from the pharmacy
• Office supplies: paper, toner, computers

Reality check: You don't have to record everything perfectly. Concentrate on the big chunks.

Step 5: Data collection for the pharmacy CO₂ balance sheet

Emissions are so easy to calculate. If you have the right data:

Internal sources:

• Merchandise management system (purchase values by supplier)
• Energy bills
• Cash register system (for material consumption)
• Personnel files (number of employees for commuting)

External sources:

• Wholesalers (Phoenix, Noweda & Co.)
• Energy suppliers
• Waste disposal companies

The trick: Most of the data is already dormant in your systems. You just didn't know that it was climate data. Your ERP system suddenly becomes a source of emissions, your electricity bill becomes a CO₂ indicator. You just have to read the figures differently.

Step 6: Emission factors - the translation into CO₂

Now we convert your activity data into CO₂ equivalents. To do this, you need emission factors. You can obtain these from various databases or use specialized software.

Example: 20,000 kWh of electricity × 0.401 kg CO₂/kWh = 8,020 kg CO₂

Step 7: Create a pharmacy CO₂ balance sheet - software or service?

Theoretically, everything works with Excel. In practice, it quickly becomes confusing. You basically have two options for your pharmacy CO₂ balance sheet:

Option 1: Do it yourself
You collect all the data and create the balance sheet yourself. You can use our software to do this, which takes care of the emission factors and calculations for you. You retain full control and learn how your pharmacy "ticks".

Option 2: Hand it over to us
You provide us with the raw data and we create the complete CO₂ balance sheet for you. This saves time and you can concentrate on your core business. At the end, you receive a professional CO₂ balance sheet with specific recommendations for action.

Both paths lead to the goal. The decision depends on how much time you want to invest and whether you see the assessment as a learning process or simply need the result.

Step 8: Identify CO₂ hotspots in pharmacies

Where do most emissions actually occur in pharmacies? The surprise comes when you first look at the figures: 60 to 70 percent of CO₂ emissions do not come from everyday pharmacy operations, but are already contained in the medicines and goods that you sell. The production of medicines is energy-intensive, as is the transportation from the pharmaceutical companies via the wholesalers to you. Energy only accounts for 15 to 20 percent - although the electricity bill seems to be getting more and more expensive. Your employees' commutes and packaging each account for around 5 to 10 percent.

The most frequent surprise in the pharmacy CO2 balance is that it is not the cooling of temperature-sensitive medicines that is the big problem, but the medicines themselves. An insulin pen already has a considerable carbon footprint when it arrives at your pharmacy.

Why this is important for you as a pharmacist: every tonne of CO₂ saved means less extreme weather, better air quality and fewer climate-related illnesses in the long term. You are actively helping to ensure that fewer people fall ill. This is prevention at its best.

Step 9: Quality control of the CO₂ balance

Nobody here is a rocket scientist, but the figures should still be correct:

• Plausibility check: 25-27 tons of CO₂ per year is the average
• Completeness: Have we covered the big items?
• Consistency: Do the figures match the size of your pharmacy?

Step 10: Derive measures from the pharmacy CO₂ balance sheet

Now you have your first CO₂ balance sheet. What can pharmacies do specifically?

Immediately implementable:

• Switch to 100% green electricity
• LED lighting
• Optimize waste separation
• Fewer plastic bags, more paper bags
• Offer digital receipts

In the medium term:

• Evaluate suppliers according to sustainability
• Improve the energy efficiency of cooling
• Motivate employees to use public transport
• Inform customers about the connection between climate and health
• Offsetting: You can offset any remaining emissions through climate protection projects. This can also be done at the same time. You don't have to reduce before you offset, but you should set a long-term reduction target.

The health bonus: What you can tell your customers

A climate-conscious pharmacy is more than just a marketing gimmick. You can honestly say to your customers:

"We are not only protecting your health today, but also that of your children tomorrow."
"Climate protection is health protection - that's why we're taking part."
"Every tonne of CO₂ saved means fewer hot days and better air for everyone."

That goes down well. Especially among health-conscious people who come to your pharmacy anyway.

The path to more climate protection

Many pharmacies use programs like Noventi's . That's a good start. But having your own CO2 balance gives you much more control and credibility. You know exactly where you stand and what you are doing.

Conclusion: pharmacy carbon footprint as a health precaution

A CO2 balance for your pharmacy is not rocket science. It is a structured approach with a bit of hard work. And it's consistent: if you want to make people healthy, you also have to keep the planet healthy.

You already have most of the data - in your merchandise management system, in your energy bills, in your accounting. And you have the health arguments anyway.

Our job is to ask you the right questions and provide you with the tools you need. Your job: To take the first step.

The reward: cost savings through efficiency, satisfied customers who value sustainability and the good feeling of doing something concrete for everyone's health. Today and tomorrow.