Sustainable Procurement & CSR News - Pharmaceutical Industry

As resource consumption grows, several industries including the pharmaceutical industry are under pressure to implement sustainable practices.

Verdict has conducted a poll to understand the sustainability areas that pharmaceutical industry needs to address the most.

Environmental sustainability was voted as the area that needs to be addressed the most by the pharmaceutical industry, according to 43% of the respondents. Climate change was considered as the most pressing environmental issue by 52% of the respondents who voted for environmental sustainability, followed by pollution (32%), natural resources (11%), and biodiversity (5%).

The company has committed by 2030 to:

Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 33% versus 2017 levels to support efforts to limit the global temperature increase to well below 2°C, aligning with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Improve transparency of Scope 3 GHG emissions and increase engagement on climate issues with key suppliers throughout the value chain.

Increase energy efficiency by 10% and the total proportion of energy purchased or generated from renewable sources to 50%.

Cedar Cares program will build better experiences for communities across the country, supporting nonprofits focused on healthcare access, climate change and education

Cedar, a leading patient engagement and financial technology platform, announced the relaunch of Cedar Cares, the company’s charitable initiative. Cedar Cares will amplify the mission of Cedar by supporting nonprofit organizations that are improving access to healthcare, tackling climate change and closing educational gaps.

From vitamins to vaccines, the pharmaceutical industry is fundamental to enhancing the world’s health by advancing cutting-edge, innovative solutions and utilities like steam are vital in the manufacturing process. However, with reducing carbon footprint becoming an increasing focus for energy-intensive manufacturing processes, plant owners and operators are striving to reduce energy consumption and wastage.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems have always been an integral part of pharmaceutical manufacturing, with organisations such as AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline estimating that HVAC demands accounted for 60-70% of their UK operations’ total energy consumption[1]. In fact, operating costs of industrial HVAC in cleanrooms tend to be between 20 and 100 times larger per square foot than those employed in typical buildings. With such large numbers in mind, it is understandable that reducing overall consumption and improving efficiency is an area of importance for plant managers and operators.

In the past year or so, Novartis has focused on better governance by tightening its ethics standards. Now the Swiss pharma is also working to improve its corporate image from an environmental perspective.

Novartis aims to become carbon neutral across its supply chain by 2030, replacing a previous goal targeting a carbon reduction of 50% from a 2016 baseline. And the supply chain goal comes on top of its target for carbon neutrality within its own operations by 2025. In the first half of 2020, the company had reduced or offset 14% of the carbon emissions within its own operations or from its power sources, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told investors Tuesday.

Blockchain startup Fantom has been given the green light to start tracking medicinal drugs in Afghanistan to help stem the country’s counterfeiting problem.

Researchers have developed a sustainable biomedical device, consisting of by-products from the food industry, for use in regenerative medicine.

Scientists in the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country’s NanoBioCel and Biomat groups have developed a novel biomedical device comprised of soy protein and chitin, by-products from the food industry which are typically discarded in industrial processes.

Earlier this week, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released “Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America,” a comprehensive plan with ambitious and actionable solutions to address climate change.

The 538-page report is broken down into different topic areas, including one titled “Improve Public Health and Manage Climate Risks to Health Infrastructure.” (pages 313-338)

The report states, “Health issues and emergencies caused by surging climate impacts can strain the capacity of hospitals, public health professionals, and the entire health sector.”

healthcare resources at all levels are being directed toward fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. While this has resulted in encouraging progress, many non-coronavirus patients are finding it difficult to access care due to limited available resources, while others avoid seeking in-person medical treatment for fear of exposure to the virus.

This trend is especially concerning among patients in need of chronic care, who account for 76% of all physician visits. For those with chronic diseases, failure to access care can lead to high-acuity care episodes, a situation that is dangerous and disruptive to patients, in addition to being costly for patients, payors, and providers alike.

To avoid these negative outcomes, and to preserve specialist availability and critical health care resources, health care organizations must find ways to provide safe access to primary care for patients with chronic conditions. One potential avenue for providing this care is through the use of eConsults and other forms of telehealth for chronic care management.

Last year marked the 60th anniversary of one of the most influential concepts in lab animal welfare—the three Rs. To promote the humane treatment of laboratory animals, these principles urge scientists to replace animals with new technologies, reduce the number of animals used in experiments, and refine lab protocols to minimize animal suffering. First outlined in the 1959 book, The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique, the three Rs have become a cornerstone of lab animal legislation and oversight throughout the world.

Several leading US healthcare organizations choosing Compass One Healthcare as its food and nutrition services, environmental services, and/or facilities management provider have been honored with awards as part of the 2020 Practice Greenhealth Awards. Practice Greenhealth is the leading membership and networking organization for sustainable health care, delivering environmental solutions to hospitals and health systems across the United States.

SFEE and its member companies are committed to ensuring the sustainability of our healthcare systems by breaking barriers and silos and working together with policymakers to deliver outcomes to patients, society and the national economy, writes Olympios Papadimitriou.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., has recently announced that the company has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), under the category of emerging markets for the third consecutive year in a row.

DJSI is one of the world's most respected and widely accepted sustainability benchmarks globally with only the top ranked companies in terms of Corporate Sustainability within each industry featured in the index.

Gartner, Inc. recently released its 12th annual Gartner Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 ranking, which recognizes companies across the healthcare value chain that advance healthcare by improving patient outcomes and controlling costs.

“2020 has proved to be a challenging year for healthcare and life sciences supply chains with the COVID-19 pandemic stressing many networks to their breaking point,” said Stephen Meyer, senior director analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain practice. “All supply chains had to make significant changes to the way they worked, both tactically and strategically.”

The pandemic has required a rethink of how we do business: and CPhI Festival of Pharma is encouraging companies to prioritize sustainability efforts moving forward.
Momentum towards more sustainable solutions has been building over the last few years – think Greta Thunberg, climate strikes, David Attenborough, COP21 – and thus increasing scrutiny in the area.

And while the coronavirus pandemic may have grabbed the world’s attention in 2020, organizations like CPhI champion the opportunity to use the shake-up as a chance to reset the industry’s approach to the environment. For the pharma and biopharma industry, it’s a wide-reaching remit: covering everything from the carbon footprint of the supply chain to waste management.

“Challenging times call for great innovation,”​ notes CPhI. “Opportunities to accelerate market growth are hand-in-hand with social and environmental sustainability. ​Leading operations efficiency is one of the ways in which businesses can be cost-effective and contribute to a faster market recovery whilst building consumer loyalty.​

“One of the biggest challenges a company faces when embracing sustainability is finding the right information and resources. Look out for consumer trends and market updates at CPhI.”

When Virginia Mason’s anesthesia technician Randy Johnson and staff anesthesiologist Dr. Ryan Pong learned that desflurane had a global warming potential 20 times greater than its alternative gases in 2015, they decided to work together on persuading their colleagues to reduce the use desflurane in favor of its alternatives. Through casual but persistent conversations over a five-year period, the duo ultimately convinced every member of their department that other gasses could work without harming patient care. Their success culminated in September 2019 when Virginia Mason Medical Center completely eliminated desflurane use.

As the nation confronts a reckoning over racial inequality, tech giants — with their vast budgets, institutional power, and growing focus on health — could be well-positioned to make a difference. They could invest in health tech initiatives to close racial gaps in local communities, conduct inclusive research, and create more affordable, accessible products.

At its General Assembly on June 9, 2020, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), an international organization comprised of over 115 associations representing 5 million public health professionals around the world, approved a new policy calling for immediate actions to close coal mines and coal plants and to invest in cheaper, healthier, and fairer alternatives. 

The WFPHA’s Call to Ban Coal for Electricity Production adds urgency and specificity to the crescendo of international health bodies calling on governments, multilateral institutions, and health organizations to take immediate action to phase out fossil fuel use and transition to healthier, renewable sources of energy. It builds upon the Federation’s prior resolutions and declarations, including the Kolkata Call to Action that called for “a rapid phase-out of coal” to limit further global warming and prevent illnesses and deaths associated with air pollution.

A survey by medical software provider Kyruus of 1,000 adult patients found that nearly three quarters had tried virtual care during the COVID crisis and more than 75 percent were very or completely satisfied with their experience.

The world was already waking up to the economic as well as environmental need for the shift from a linear to a circular approach for a sustainable future. Most investors, governments and healthcare providers have aligned on the need to set greenhouse gas reduction targets and are scrutinizing their indirect carbon emissions related to the goods and services they procure and the companies they invest in.

Such shifting market demands are seeing healthcare systems take a holistic view of the entire care pathway: the environmental impact of the medicine itself, use of power and resources by the organization and its supply chain, and the impacts of patients with poorly managed chronic disease.

Scientist.com, the healthcare industry’s leading marketplace for life science research, announced today the launch of VERIF.i®, a standardized supplier pre-assessment program. Research organizations use VERIF.i to evaluate the facilities, personnel and processes supporting the sourcing of human biological samples and research services involving animals. Supplier pre-assessments improve quality management, reduce costs and reduce risk.

There has been so much focus over the years on how to treat infectious waste from hospitals and other healthcare facilities, but far less attention when it comes to organic waste produced there. This can pose a serious health hazard.

If not properly disposed of, infectious organic waste – which includes kitchen waste and pathological waste such as placentas – can attract flies, rats and feral animals, all capable of spreading disease.  It smells terrible as it decomposes, and generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. In many countries, there are laws that force medical facilities to incinerate placentas and other waste, despite the pollution this process causes.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, there is a safer and more sustainable, as well as low-cost and low-tech, way to dispose of this waste, and even provide environmental benefits when it comes to energy use with less reliance on fossil fuels. That way is through biodigestion.