The carbon footprint of pharma’s supply chain & Climate Change

The healthcare industry needs to target its entire value chain if it wants to make a real dent in reducing carbon emissions. The industry has an impact on the environment – and in the face of a climate crisis, it has a responsibility to find ways to mitigate this harm. In a GlobalData survey conducted last year, 43% of respondents considered the environment the most pressing ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issue for the pharmaceutical sector to address.

In 2016, the United Nations Framework Convention created clear goals to limit climate warming with The Paris Agreement. These goals aim to keep the rise in global average temperature to less than 2°C, (35.6°F) above pre-industrial levels – and as close as possible to 1.5°C above (34.7°F).

As an international company, we bear a responsibility to contribute to this worldwide effort. That’s why we’ve defined limiting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions as the top focus areas for our sustainability strategy. It is one of the focused priorities alongside the use of sustainable materials and the creation of our products.

Mitigating manufacturing’s impact

Manufacturing the finished pharmaceutical product is another carbon-intensive stage of the healthcare company’s supply chain. One of the most effective ways of reducing carbon emissions associated with product production is to adopt continuous manufacturing, an efficient alternative to batch manufacturing, that combines multiple separate production stages into one single, continuous production line.

Supporting Cold chain shipping: a carbon culprit

While pharmaceutical product manufacturing carries a large carbon footprint, the steps taken to distribute pharmaceuticals and supplements out of the factory and into consumers’ hands also have a significant impact on the environment.

One way by which distribution in the healthcare industry contributes to climate change is the use of cold chain shipping, which allows temperature-sensitive products, to be transported at controlled temperatures that do not compromise their efficacy or safety. Usually, these temperatures must be maintained from point of manufacture to the consumer.

Refrigerated vehicles require additional energy to power the cooling systems, known as transport refrigeration units (TRU), that keep products at a controlled temperature. According to low-emission transport and energy research technology organization Cenex, the average diesel trailer TRU produces around 8 tons of tailpipe Co2 a year – equal to the output of four average UK cars in a year.

An obvious way to reduce the carbon emissions caused by cold chain shipping is by investing in greener fuels and energy sources for transport vehicles. Research published in 2019 found that gas-fueled vehicles saved over 1,400 tons of Co2 emissions compared to diesel across two years.

Packaging and pollution

Whether passive or active systems are employed, reducing the number of packaging materials used can make a big difference. By striving to find more efficient ways to store products in transport vehicles, we aim to cut the amount of packaging used to transport our products. Taking up less shipping space means fewer vehicles are needed to transport the products – which translates into fewer carbon emissions at the distribution stage of the supply chain.

We know we can’t win the fight on our own. But as part of an international company, we can make a real impact.