Why Falck is Reporting on Clean Energy & Emissions Reduction

The World Health Organisation recognises climate change as the most substantial threat to human health.

As the world warms, core elements of health like clean air, safe water and adequate food are becoming less secure.

This change could contribute to a rise in conditions such as malnutrition, heat stress and infectious diseases.

In response, it is important for healthcare companies to spearhead efforts in reducing their own climate impact and to report on their progress with integrity.

Falck, a global provider of emergency and healthcare services, has anchored its strategy in these values with its latest Climate Transparency Report 2024.

The report details Falck's commitment to cutting GHG emissions across the 9.5 million services it delivered in 25 countries during 2024.

Introducing the report, Head of Environmental Sustainability at Falck David Nri says: “We believe that with clear and comprehensive guidance on how we count our GHG emissions, others in the sector can be encouraged to do the same.

"We want to support all within healthcare and emergency services who would like to be more ambitious on climate change – our customers, collaborators and even our competitors.”

Commitment to climate transparency and reporting

This is Falck's second climate transparency report and the first since its near-term science-based targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in January 2025.

Through these targets, Falck has committed to a series of reductions by 2032 from a 2022 baseline.

These targets include:

• A 50.4% reduction of Scope 1 emissions
• A 50.4% reduction of Scope 2 emissions
• A 30% reduction of Scope 3 emissions

Falck monitors emissions in each area following the GHG Protocol’s principles.

Its objective is to establish a clear and countable understanding of its total emissions and their sources.

This allows for the identification of emissions hotspots to guide reduction initiatives and creates a foundation for tracking performance over time.

Falck also charts uncertainty across its emissions categories to show the reliability of its results.

Analysing emissions across scope categories

Overall, Falck reports a 7% reduction in total market-based emissions, which are those associated with purchased energy, against its 2022 baseline. The 2024 total was 165,791tCO2e.

Scope 1 emissions present a particular challenge for Falck due to its extensive global services, which include ambulance and patient transport.

Many of these services are reliant on transportation. Mobile combustion from burning fuel in vehicles contributed to 26.3% of Falck's total GHG emissions in 2024, at 43,563CO2e.

This figure represents an 11% decrease from the 2022 baseline.

For Scope 2, Falck tracks emissions from electricity and district heating. Market-based electricity used in owned and leased buildings contributed 8,688tCO2e in 2024, making up 5.2% of total emissions.

Both market-based and location-based electricity saw a 16% increase on the 2022 baseline figure.

Scope 3 remains the largest impact area. Upstream goods and services accounted for 45.1% of total emissions at 74,708tCO2e in 2024.

This segment did however shrink by 10% against the baseline target.

Emissions from business travel decreased by 5% while waste emissions saw a 36% reduction.

The path to transparent climate reporting

The progress detailed in Falck’s report reflects Falck's wider sustainability ambitions.

These are centred on four pillars: environmental action, enhancing social impact, ensuring a diverse and safe workplace and rigorous governance.

Discussing the data on LinkedIn, David commented on the broader landscape of corporate environmental accountability, noting: “It's a rough time for sustainability reporting.

"The EU seems to be moving backwards, companies like Google are quietly removing targets from their website and companies like Amazon release deceptive disinformation in place of transparent climate reporting.

“My team at Falck are trying to go in a different direction: integrity and transparency.

"If you know of any company that is more transparent about their climate calculations I want to hear about them.”