Pharmanovia pledges commitment to new environmental and sustainability targets

Pharmanovia, a global pharmaceutical company has announced increased targets to divert 40 per cent of its air shipments to sea in 2023, and 75 per cent by the end of 2028.

It has made the pledge as it revealed the significant progress made towards achieving its ambitious science-backed ESG initiatives in its new Sustainability Report. Its industry-leading air-to-sea pilot scheme, which focused on its Spain-to-Australia freight route, cut an estimated 470,000kg in potential CO₂ emissions in 2022 - reducing Scope 3 upstream transport emissions by 18 per cent.

This initiative demonstrates Pharmanovia’s role as an industry leader on carbon reduction and follows a recent report which stated just 16 of 500 pharmaceutical companies measured their entire Scope 3 emissions.

The new Sustainability Report reveals that the Scope 2 emissions decreasing by 13 per cent in 2022, due to lower direct electricity demand within the office space.

The company’s packaging audit seeing a 52 per cent increase in the percentage of products packed with at least one fully recyclable component, up from 12% in 2021 to 64 per cent in 2022

Strong progress in an initiative which saw Pharmanovia set ESG goals all employees across its global offices as part of annual performance awards. Employees achieved a 98 per cent completion rate of the compliance training, including ESG modules

Other initiatives include a 2030 target being established for Pharmanovia’s transition to an electric hybrid vehicle fleet, while technology is also being embraced to strengthen the company's already robust Supply Chain Policy. A digital due diligence tool has been piloted and will be rolled out further in 2023 to provide continuous and automated monitoring of all partnerships, including their own ESG activities.

The company has set itself a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, which is aligned with science-based targets that support the United Nations Climate Change Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.  Pharmanovia’s Net-Zero goals have been validated by the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi).

James Burt, CEO, Pharmanovia said: “We are proud of the progress made in the last year despite headwinds faced due to global challenges and geopolitical complexity. Today’s set of environmental targets, including our landmark pledge to transition from air freight to sea freight, demonstrate our commitment to establishing novel routes for the industry to reach net zero. The innovative pilot not only delivered benefits in terms of carbon, but in waste and cost reduction, too.

“Our purpose is to improve the lives of patients globally, which is why setting meaningful targets to reduce our environmental impact is critical, to build a sustainable future for patients and the sector. We look forward to working with our partners within our supply chain to ensure we are all held to the most rigorous of environmental standards.”

Neeshe Williams, Head of ESG and General Counsel, Pharmanovia said: “A report from PwC’s Health Research Institute highlighted that just 12 per cent of ESG targets set by pharmaceutical companies relate to environmental initiatives, showing an increased focus is needed. At Pharmanovia, we believe deeply in addressing the climate impact of our own business as well as the partners we work with. All employees have been assigned individual ESG targets as part of their performance review, to reinforce ESG is something we do, not just talk about, and encourage them to apply a sustainable lens to the work they do.”