User:Frog231/Johnson & Johnson

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Every year in the United States almost 10% of total emissions come from the healthcare sector. A study conducted in UK revealed that about 32% of the greenhouse gas emissions that are from the healthcare sector originate from the medical supply chain. The logistics of producing and distributing the covid-19 vaccine had negative effects of the environment. This did not have a lot of public attention as the main goal at the time was to save lives. Johnson & Johnson have a history of doing good for the environment as well and have put effort in to have lower emissions.

Environmental impact of vaccines
Healthcare is often ignored when considering carbon emissions but is among the highest carbon-producing sectors. Johnson & Johnson was recently called to action during the recent Covid-19 pandemic to produce vaccinations for the public. Vaccinations are one of the leading causes of high emissions in the healthcare sector when accounting for production, precise climate control, and mass transportation. Creating vaccinations quickly and effectively is a higher priority than the environment during a pandemic. In a study comparing the differences in green house gas emissions of oral vaccines versus four intramuscular vaccines (including the J&J Vaccine) they found that all four intramuscular vaccines were responsible for more emissions than the oral vaccine. The main reason for the differences comes from the differences in the way these vaccines need to be handled. The four main contributors are the cold chain, supply chain, production, and disposal. The cold chain, which involves all the logistics of getting vaccines from the factory to the consumer while maintaining a low temperature, is the biggest cause of emissions in the process. Of the four major intramuscular vaccines in the United States (Pfizer, Moderna, Astra-Zenica, and Johnson & Johnson), Astra-Zenica and Johnson & Johnson emit the least energy during the cold room phase at 2,023.06kWh/yr per 100,000 doses each. This is due to them both needing the temperature of the room to be 2 degrees celsius vs Phizer (18,904.65kWh/yr) and Moderna (4968kWh/yr) requiring the room to be -70 degrees celcius and -25 degrees celcius respectively.

Climate change efforts
Johnson & Johnson aimed to incorporate best practices by 2000. They joined forces with the United States government to be a part of their Climate Change Action Plan. Examples of best practices included changing lighting to either T-8 or T-5 fluorescents with occupancy sensors, LED exit signs, upgrading windows and insulation, and have regular calibration checks.

Johnson & Johnson announced in 2015 that they would join RE100, a campain in which a group of some of the worlds largest companies have all agreed to be a part of. All 315 members electricity usage is close to the whole of Norway equaling about 340 TWh of electricity. The goal of Johnson & Johnson as well as the rest of it's members is to be 100% reliant on renewable energy, and have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. There are thirteen countries where RE100's companies contribute to over 2% of the electricity generated within the country, of the thirteen Johnson & Johnson has the top three highest demand for electricity in three of them currently. The most common ways companies committed to 100% renewable energy are to purchase from a supplier or have a private off site generatore with no grid transfers. Renewable energy is becoming the cheapest method to power many businesses.