CSR in the pharmaceutical industry: what are the priority themes and fields of action in the environmental pillar?
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) is playing an increasingly important role in corporate strategies in the pharmaceutical industry. Defined by the European Commission as ‘the responsibility of companies for the effects they have on society’, it is based on 7 themes[1]. Among these is the environment, a pillar that is gaining in importance. And rightly so, given the climate crisis and the urgent need to take concrete action.
The pharmaceutical industry: a sector with a significant impact on the environment
The pharmaceutical industry’s impact on the environment takes many forms:
- CO2 emissions: the healthcare sector accounts for no less than 4.4% of net emissions worldwide and 8% of emissions in France[2]. This is mainly due to the production, transport and storage stages.
- Consumption of resources, including water for cleaning and processing, and energy.
- Pollution: the pharmaceutical industry is associated with the production of toxic waste, such as unused or out-of-date medicines, chemicals and packaging, all of which require treatment. For example, 90% of orally administered pharmaceutical products are excreted as active substances in wastewater. In fact, pharmaceutical residues have been detected in all areas of the environment. This excretion comes with several risks: accumulation of active ingredients and antibiotic resistance[3].
- Plastic waste: Massive waste due to primary and secondary packaging. Moreover, 50% of plastic waste is single-use waste[4].
These impacts are exacerbated by massive drug wastage. According to an American study, no less than 2/3 of prescribed medicines are not used[5].
A growing commitment to CSR in the pharmaceutical industry to reduce its environmental impact
Faced with this situation and to reduce their environmental impact, industries and organisations are taking action through CSR strategies, some with ambitious objectives.
In France, for example, LEEM (the French union of pharmaceutical companies) has defined targets for the pharmaceutical industry. Among them, target 5 directly addresses the environmental pillar with its goal to ‘strengthen the sector’s contribution to protecting the environment’. This is to be achieved through a decarbonisation plan, which aims to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% and scope 3 emissions by 25%, and a roadmap for phasing out single-use plastics2. Worldwide, most of the major companies in the sector have set targets for reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG), including Sanofi, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca and Bayer[6].
These CSR strategies put in place by the various players reveal priority areas for action to meet the environmental challenge:
- The main one[7] is reducing GHG emissions. According to LEEM, 90% of member companies are mobilising players to reduce their GHG emissions2. For example, Sanofi is committed to this goal, with a target of net zero emissions by 2045.
- Waste management and wastewater treatment, both considered priorities by the CPHI (Pharmaceutical Ingredients Convention)[8] and the European Union in its Pharmaceuticals Strategy for Europe[9]. Lonza has, for example, set a target of a 50% reduction in waste generation per CHF million of sales by 2030. GSK, is also taking concrete actions for waste reduction like using recycled card in packaging, e-leaflets for vaccines and more efficient manufacturing methods.
- Packaging. One of LEEM’s objectives is to improve the environmental footprint of packaging waste2.
- Water consumption: a priority for the CPHI10 but also for Lactalis Ingredients Pharma which is aiming to reduce water consumption by 10% per tonne produced by 2025 .
Implementing CSR actions on the environmental pillar, a challenge for companies
Challenges inherent to the pharmaceutical industry
Given the specific characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry, introducing measures to act on priority action plans is not without its challenges. These characteristics need to be taken into account in CSR strategies[10]:
- Highly refined pharmaceutical products, with patient safety as a top priority. This results in safety standards and a process that is difficult to modify.
- Pharmaceutical products from a long and complex value chain. The main producers of active ingredients are located in China and India, and a large proportion of emissions fall under scope 3.
- A lot of waste due to poor alignment between supply and demand.
The solution: innovate to act on the environmental pillar of CSR in the pharmaceutical industry
To overcome these challenges and respond to the environmental emergency, multiple levers are emerging in CSR strategies. Grouped together under the term green manufacturing practices, they include green chemistry, waste minimisation and management, sustainable packaging, energy efficiency and sustainable sourcing (improved producer responsibility, collaboration and information sharing)[11].
LEEM encourages, for example, the sourcing of production in Europe, ‘climate commitments for suppliers’ and optimised purchasing of raw materials2.
Lactalis Ingredients Pharma is aware of the emergency of the climate crisis and is committed to meeting the challenge of sustainability through a CSR strategy focused on the environment. Indeed, the company has made 3 main commitments: to reduce its carbon footprint, to preserve water resources and to promote animal welfare, with already tangible results such as a 10% reduction in the amount of water used per tonne produced from 2019, and an animal welfare assessment of 25% of farms.
Key word: CSR
[1] Ministère de l’économie, des finances et de la souveraineté industrielle et numérique, Qu’est-ce que la responsabilité sociétale des entreprises (RSE) ?, https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/responsabilite-societale-entreprises-rse#
[2] LEEM, Plan de décarbonation du Leem, 2023, https://www.leem.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/Plan%20de%20d%C3%A9carbonation%20du%20Leem.pdf
[3] Health Care Without Harm, Procuring for greener pharma, 2023, https://europe.noharm.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/7333/2023-02-08_HCWH-Europe_Procuring-greener-pharma.pdf
[4] Health Care Without Harm, Measuring and reducing plastics in the healthcare sector, 2021, https://europe.noharm.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/6886/2021-09-23-measuring-and-reducing-plastics-in-the-healthcare-sector.pdf
[5] J. Han et al, Waves of pharmaceutical waste, 2022
[6] A. Booth et al, Pharmaceutical Company Targets and Strategies to Address Climate Change: Content Analysis of Public Reports from 20 Pharmaceutical Companies, 2023
[7] M Di Russo et al, Impact of the 50 biggest pharma companies: a review of Environmental report aspiring to NetZero, 2023
[8] CPHI, Towards a greener future, 2023
[9] European Commission, Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe, 2020
[10] OHE, Supporting the Era of Green Pharmaceuticals in the UK, 2022
[11] ABPI, Paving the way to sustainability: transforming pharmaceutical industry practices, 2023, https://www.abpi.org.uk/media/blogs/2023/december/paving-the-way-to-sustainability-transforming-pharmaceutical-industry-practices/
