Life cycle assessment of a large volume parenteral for hospital use

Abstract

The growing demand for pharmaceutical products is increasing concern about their environmental impacts. Large Volume Parenteral (LVP) is used to administer intravenous solutions and drugs for treating patients, being one of the most globally used pharmaceutical products. There was not previous environmental life cycle assessment of LPVs and this article investigates the life cycle impacts of an LVP and identifies opportunities for improvement. A cradle-to-grave LCA was performed, addressing distribution distances, energy scenarios and alternative end-of-life for LVP with different approaches to consider avoided burdens. The results show that LVP packaging production presents the largest environmental impacts due to electricity and natural gas requirements. The use of renewable electricity and energy improvement in LVP manufacturing can significantly reduce impacts. Regarding end-of-life, credits from avoided burdens significantly reduces the impacts of LVP end-of-life. This article highlights the importance of assessing the entire life cycle of products used in hospitals.