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• Energy and climate impact

Energy and climate impact

An increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is widely thought by climate scientists to be causing a rise in the earth’s temperature, leading to climate change.

Burning fossil fuels for heat and power releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) - the most significant greenhouse gas.

GSK’s climate impact comes from energy use from our facilities, transport, and compounds we use that contribute to global warming. The biggest source is energy use from our facilities (two thirds). We have a target to reduce global warming potential from energy per unit sales by 8% by 2005 (from a 2001 baseline) and we are on track to meet this target (see energy).

Compounds that contribute to global warming are used in the production of metered dose inhalers and in some ancillary equipment. They include CFCs and HCFCs (which also deplete the ozone layer) and HFCs (which do not deplete the ozone layer). Emissions of ozone depleting compounds are also reported in the ozone depletion section. See product stewardship for more about the use of ozone depleting compounds in our products.

Carbon dioxide and methane from waste treatment and fermentation also contribute to our global warming impact. We report our performance in the waste section.

Year	Energy	Transport	Compound*	Other*
2001	1,892	124	1,339	145
2002	1,839	185	968	170
2003	1,833	181	619	146
2004	1,750	210	566	123

Global warming potential decreased by 4.7% since 2003.

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