The unintended contribution of clinical microbiology laboratories to climate change and mitigation strategies: a combination of descriptive study, short survey, literature review and opinion

Objective: Climate change poses a significant threat to humanity and human activity is largely responsible for it. Clinical microbiology laboratories have their unintended shares in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The aim of this study is to estimate CO₂ emission of a clinical microbiology laboratory and to propose initiatives to reduce the emissions.

Methods: CO₂ emission of instruments was estimated based on their electricity consumption. CO₂ emitted in producing consumables was estimated by weighing the consumables needed to perform major tests in a large academic hospital. A systematic literature review was performed to identify studies on the impact of clinical microbiology laboratories on the environment. A short survey was sent to four major manufacturers of agar plates on initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of their products. Opinion was given on activities that can reduce CO₂ emission in laboratories.

Results: The study shows that the largest amount of CO₂ emission in the microbiological laboratories comes from consumables and personnel commuting. For example, the production and transportation of agar plates needed to culture samples for a year in a hospital with 1320 beds result in 16 590 kg CO₂ is emitted. All survey participants mentioned that they were committed to reduce environmental impact of their products. The initiatives to reduce CO₂ emission can be performed at the laboratory and at policy level, such as reducing the number of tests to only the necessary amount to reduce consumables.

Discussion: The calculations contribute to map CO₂-related emissions in clinical microbiology laboratory activities, and the proposed initiatives to reduce the CO₂ may serve as starting point for further discussions.