A new virtual laboratory, which will gather insights into the healthcare industry’s environmental footprint to accelerate sustainable solutions, has been launched in Australia.

The University of Melbourne-led Healthcare Carbon Lab, at Western Health, will measure the environmental impacts and costs of common single-use items and medical equipment compared to reusable alternatives.

Project lead and Associate Dean of Healthcare Sustainability in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Associate Professor Forbes McGain, said the lab will track and calculate the energy for the creation, use and disposal of medical equipment used in hospitals every day.

Associate Professor McGain, who is also an intensive care doctor at Western Health, said the lab will accelerate the long history of collaborating with University of Melbourne engineers to research and improve the efficiency of hospital energy use.

Sunbury MP Josh Bull, CEO of Western Health Professor Russell Harrison and Professor Jane Gunn AO, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, were present at the launch.