An air ambulance organisation measured its emissions, with a biokerosene trial

FinnHEMS provides helicopter emergency medical services in Finland. It is one of the few organisations where helicopter flight is not a choice but a necessity. An air ambulance brings a physician to the patient in situations where minutes matter.

Starting point

FinnHEMS wanted to understand their total operational emissions realistically. In a helicopter-based service, fuel is inevitably the most significant emission source, but how large is the overall picture, and what other items arise?

The project also included a specific question: can biofuels be used in helicopter operations, and if so, what is their actual climate impact?

What was done

NGS calculated FinnHEMS’s organisational emissions per GHG Protocol Scope 1–3. The accounting covered helicopter flight fuel consumption, ground transportation, offices, and procurement.

A separate analysis of a biokerosene trial was done alongside the project: what benefits biofuel use would bring, under what conditions they are available, and how they are correctly recorded in carbon accounting.

Result

FinnHEMS received an overall picture of their organisational emissions as well as a concrete analysis of biofuel opportunities. The report provides a basis for sustainability work in an organisation whose core mission is indispensable to society.