Sedana Medical’s main contribution to a sustainable future is closely connected with its mission – to bring inhaled sedation to Intensive Care Units.

Sedana Medical strives for openness and transparency and aims to integrate sustainability at all levels of operations, continually improving its procedures and systems.

Sedana Medical is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and adheres to its Ten Principles in the areas of Human Rights, Labor, Environment and Anti-Corruption (www.unglobalcompact.nl/the-ten-principles). Sedana Medical will continuously strive for improvements to reduce its impact on the environment, take account of the environment and health in the development of products and processes, and prioritise innovative, environmentally sound technology. These commitments are part of Sedana Medical’s contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals within Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly. Sedana Medical’s work on sustainability entails continued efforts to reduce the carbon footprint at every step of its products’ life cycle, including material and manufacturing, transportation, product use, and recycling and waste handling. At each of these steps, Sedana Medical is pursuing projects to understand the main sources of carbon footprint and implement actions to minimize these.

Since 2005, Sedana Medical enables the use of inhaled sedation in the ICU with its medical device Sedaconda® ACD (Anaesthetic Conserving Device). In 2021, Sedaconda® (isoflurane) became the only drug approved for inhaled sedation in critically ill, mechanically ventilated adult patients. Isoflurane is a known greenhouse gas (GHG) and its consumption is an aspect that Sedana Medical is continuously working to rationalize through continued education and product optimization. As stated by climate scientists in recent publications and scientific congresses, the combined contribution of desflurane, sevoflurane and isoflurane is less than 0.01% of the overall CO₂ emissions attributed to human activity (Slingo and Slingo, Anaesthesia 2024; Shine, Br J Anaesthesia 2010). However small isoflurane’s contribution might be to the climate effect of healthcare, Sedana Medical will continue working on fully understanding the impact of its therapy and available alternatives, and optimizing the sustainability of all components of its therapy.

Sedana Medical’s products minimize the environmental impact of isoflurane for ICU sedation in several ways. The Sedaconda ACD facilitates direct recycling of the drug, with most of the isoflurane exhaled by the patient being returned in the next breath, leading to low overall drug usage. The FlurAbsorb captures waste gas, providing a safe working environment and preventing the gas from being released into the atmosphere at point of use.

Sedana Medical strives to continuously implement changes to further minimize the carbon footprint of its therapy and operations. These may include short-term measures to address emissions hotspots, such as the reduction of packaging and goods transportation via sea freight in more efficient containers
instead of air freight, as well as more long-term projects involving partnerships with sustainability experts.

Sedana Medical is currently engaged in the following longer-term global sustainability projects:

• Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs) of products – The environmental impact of 12 of Sedana Medical’s core products is being calculated through LCAs by an independent sustainability agency based in Sweden. LCAs evaluate the environmental impact of a product’s entire life cycle. The analysis includes energy, materials, water, direct emissions and waste in a “cradle-to-gate” approach. Once completed, the LCAs will yield a global warming potential number for each product measured in kg of CO₂. The LCAs for Sedana Medical’s core portfolio are expected to be completed during early 2025.
• Optimisation of FlurAbsorb disposal – Incinerating FlurAbsorb canisters may potentially reduce the environmental impact of isoflurane. Sedana Medical’s Research & Development Department plans to investigate the incineration process of the FlurAbsorb in collaboration with a third party. The goal will be to identify the most sustainable conditions for the FlurAbsorb canisters’ disposal.
• Care Pathway Assessment – An appraisal of the full life cycle costs and environmental impact of two treatment scenarios, IV sedation and inhaled sedation, is underway in collaboration with an independent environmental resources management company based in the UK. The assessment addresses GHG emissions, waste and water for the two care pathways based on the findings of the Sedaconda study, Sedana Medical’s randomized control trial on isoflurane sedation via the Sedaconda ACD-S.
• GHG Reporting – GHG accounting and reporting according to the global standardised GHG Protocol (https://ghgprotocol.org/) has been commissioned to an independent sustainability agency based in Sweden, whereby Sedana Medical will be able to disclose its yearly emissions of CO₂ and other gases. The GHG Protocol divides GHG emissions into three Scopes depending on where in the company’s value chain the emissions take place. Scope 1 concerns direct emissions resulting from the company’s facilities and vehicles and is already completed. Scope 2 is currently ongoing and involves indirect emissions of purchased electricity and energy for own use during upstream activities. Scope 3 has also been initiated and relates to indirect emissions resulting from both upstream activities (such as purchased goods and services, fuel- and energy-related activities, transportation and distribution, waste generated in operations, business travel, employee commuting, and leased assets) and downstream activities (such as transportation and distribution, processing/use/end-of-life treatment of sold products, leased assets, franchises, and investments). The GHG Report was completed during 2024 and will be communicated in Sedana Medical’s 2024 annual report in early 2025. Together with the LCA of the core products, the GHG Report will be a key component of Sedana Medical’s future ISO 14004 certification.

To learn more about the environmental impact of inhaled sedation, please contact your local Sedana Medical representative.