Environmentally conscious
laboratories and hospitals

We are a grassroots movement made up of staff at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown (CCU). Our mission is to help transform the CCU, a research institute and clinic, into a positive example of environmental sustainability in research, medicine and workplace practices.

Why are we motivated to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of our work?

• Health-care facilities use over 2.7 times the energy consumption of a typical commercial building.

• Hospitals in the US spend over $5 billion annually on energy (1-3% of the operating budget or 15% of profits).

• The UK NHS carbon footprint is more than 18mio tonnes of CO2 each year (25% of total public sector emissions).

• The typical laboratory uses 3-6 times more energy than the typical office building (50-80% due to ventilation systems).

• Hospitals and laboratories are significant consumers of water and producers of waste.