Nitrous oxide reduction initiative cuts hospital's carbon footprint.
 

Canterbury Hospital has successfully completed an important sustainability initiative to prevent unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and increase hospital savings.

In early 2025, Shirley Ding, Medical Gas Operations Manager from Sydney Local Health District’s Capital Infrastructure and Engineering team, undertook a detailed review of the hospital’s reticulated network for Nitrous Oxide (N₂O), the gas widely used in health care for clinical care and procedures.

“Nitrous Oxide is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential around 273 times greater than carbon dioxide and can remain in the atmosphere for more than 100 years,” Shirley said. 

“Even small undetected leaks from older reticulated systems can contribute significantly to a hospital’s carbon footprint.”

Moneisha McKenzie, District Sustainability Lead, said: “Leaks in reticulated N₂O systems are a recognised issue across healthcare, particularly in older facilities. These leaks increase operational costs and further contribute to climate change.”

Shirley and her team were able to find a leak at Canterbury by carefully mapping the system, using specialised leak-detection scanning tools, and working closely with clinicians and engineers to understand usage patterns. They found a single low-use outlet to be the source, which would otherwise be undetected in everyday hospital use.  

By safely decommissioning the leaking outlet, the team prevented 278 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, comparable to 56 Sydney homes powered for an entire year. In addition to the environmental impact, this represented $4036 in avoidable gas waste.

“This sustainability initiative demonstrates the District’s commitment to safe, responsible management of medical gases as part of its broader sustainability agenda,” said Jon Gowdy, Executive Director, Capital Infrastructure and Engineering. 

“Building on Canterbury’s success, we are looking forward to extending our work across other facilities to further reduce unnecessary emissions.”

Shirley said: “This project was delivered through outstanding cross-disciplinary collaboration between the CIE Engineering team, Anaesthetic department, and nursing team, under Jon’s leadership.”

This significant engineering work directly supports NSW Health’s newly introduced drive for all local health districts to achieve a 10 per cent year-on-year reduction in gas emissions per admitted patient service. Addressing legacy reticulated N₂O infrastructure is an essential step in meeting this target.  

Initiatives such as this, through the Sydney Sustainability program, also help Sydney Local Health District in its push to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, and net zero by 2050. Staff from across the District are invited to contact Moneisha McKenzie to share a sustainability project or explore opportunities for support.