Methodology & source study
EcoRenal is an academic tool that helps dialysis units in India estimate the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions generated from their consumables, water use, electricity use, biomedical waste, and patient/staff travel.
All values and conversion factors used by this calculator are based on the study:
"Carbon Footprint Assessment of Hemodialysis Services: A cross-sectional study from an Indian Dialysis Center," published in the Turkish Journal of Nephrology.
Authors
Study summary
The study performed a cross-sectional, life-cycle-based assessment of CO₂e emissions at a tertiary dialysis centre caring for 135 patients in July 2025. Activity data for electricity, water, consumables, waste, and transportation were collected and converted to CO₂e using India-specific emission factors. The facility's total monthly footprint was 106,280 kg CO₂e, averaging 66.5 kg per dialysis session and 10,243 kg per patient per year for thrice-weekly treatment. Consumables produced 75% of total emissions, with heparin alone accounting for 71% of the consumable-related total. Electricity contributed 13.9%, waste 7.6%, transportation 2.7%, and water 0.4%.
Emission factors used by this calculator
| Category | Emission factor |
|---|---|
| Electricity | 0.82 kg CO₂e / kWh (India grid, 2024) |
| Water | 0.344 kg CO₂e / m³ |
| Waste — incinerated | 2.85 kg CO₂e / kg |
| Waste — recycled | 0 kg CO₂e / kg |
| Travel — bus | 0.04 kg CO₂e / km |
| Travel — car | 0.17 kg CO₂e / km |
| Travel — two-wheeler | 0.06 kg CO₂e / km |
| Travel — auto-rickshaw | 0.08 kg CO₂e / km |
| General medical plastic | 3 kg CO₂e / kg |
| Heparin (5,000 IU vial) | 51.5 kg CO₂e / vial (pig-allocation method) |
Consumable-specific factors (dialysers, blood tubing sets, dialysate, needles, catheters, PPE, syringes, etc.) are derived from the study's Supplementary Appendix and applied per unit in the calculator's consumables section.
Important notes & limitations
- Calculations use simplified, assumption-based emission factors rather than a full life-cycle assessment (LCA) for every consumable, since granular LCA data is not publicly available for most dialysis products.
- Heparin-related emissions are highly assumption-dependent (based on a pig-allocation methodology) and should be interpreted with caution; a sensitivity range of 5–51.5 kg CO₂e per session was reported in the source study.
- This calculator is intended for academic and educational purposes only, and should not be used for regulatory, compliance, carbon offset, or clinical decision-making purposes.
- Results are estimates specific to Indian grid, water, waste, and travel emission factors, and may not generalize to other countries.