TY - JOUR T1 - Environmental impact ratings that could drive positive environmental changes in the manufacture and use of pharmaceuticals JF - BJGP Open JO - BJGP Open DO - 10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0214 VL - 6 IS - 1 SP - BJGPO.2021.0214 AU - Amelia Cussans AU - Guy Harvey AU - Terry Kemple AU - Tracy Lyons AU - Mike Tomson AU - Angela Wilson Y1 - 2022/03/01 UR - http://bjgpopen.org/content/6/1/BJGPO.2021.0214.abstract N2 - The climate and ecological emergency (CEE) is the greatest health threat of the 21st century.1 Many clinicians work hard to reduce their personal carbon footprint. This contrasts with our work lives, where we have limited scope to reduce the environmental impact of the care we provide. Our priorities lie in delivering the best possible care to the patients in front of us, so this dissonance often goes unaddressed. Yet paradoxically our services may contribute to climate-related health hazards. We will all feel the impacts of the CEE, but the health burden will impact most on future generations 2 and low-income, minority and politically-marginalised groups.3 This is a matter of global and intergenerational justice. All industries have a moral obligation 4 to reduce their carbon emissions, and as an organisation dedicated to protecting public health, the NHS has an imperative to do so.The pharmaceutical industry plays a central role in health care, yet it is also an area of growing concern. Globally, its emissions intensity is 55 % higher than the automotive sector.5 The supply chain 6 — pharmaceuticals and medical instruments — contributes the highest proportion of the NHS’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Given that the NHS produces 4 % of the UK’s total GHG emissions,6 pharmaceuticals are a major contributor to the climate crisis. Indeed, in primary care, medicines have been identified as a ‘carbon hotspot’, accounting for 65 % of its total GHG emissions.7 … ER -