BU-NOT-SET
How can the pharmaceutical industry overcome barriers to reducing its carbon footprint?
Despite ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, atmospheric CO2 levels continue to climb, posing significant concern to the escalating climate crisis.
To combat this and limit global warming to under 1.5oC, 195 countries, including the European Union (EU), signed the Paris Agreement in 2015. This signified a commitment to reducing their economies’ GHG emissions by 45% by 2030 and to reaching net zero by 20501.
The pharmaceutical industry has a key role to play in reducing its carbon footprint by examining and taking steps to bring down emissions throughout its supply chain.
However, this is easier said than done.
The obstacles to achieving Paris Agreement targets
There are a range of challenges that may prevent companies from fully playing their role in achieving the Paris Agreement goals, including:
Lack of clarity over GHG emissions: Pharmaceutical companies often underestimate the extent of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, failing to recognise the full scope of their carbon footprint. While many focus solely on emissions from their own operations and transportation networks, the entire value chain contributes to these emissions. This includes external suppliers, contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs), and even waste disposal by end patients and clinics. To effectively address these emissions and align with the Paris Agreement, companies must consider emissions throughout the entire supply chain. This requires setting targets for both direct emissions (known as scope 1 and 2_ — and for emissions in the value-chain — (known as scope 3) — to make a real impact on efforts to meet the Paris agreement.
Confusion over terminology: Terms such as carbon neutral, carbon negative, and net-zero are often used interchangeably, causing ambiguity in understanding and hindering progress. Companies must be clear on the activities undertaken and their impact in reducing their carbon footprint, and using the right language is essential.
Poor industry coordination over emissions reduction targets: Companies struggle to collaborate over their carbon emission reduction due to insufficient visibility across the supply network. This therefore makes it difficult to identify the key carbon contributors and prioritise areas for improvement. This uncertainty extends to the lack of understanding regarding the disposal of drug products and packaging. As a result, many companies are setting goals in isolation, limiting their impact and the industry’s overall GHG reduction efforts.
In a recent piece with IBI Magazine, we explore how pharmaceutical companies can address these challenges to make a more meaningful contribution to reducing their global carbon emissions. To read the full article scroll to page 38 of the latest issue.
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