Reducing greenhouse gas emissions of pharmaceutical companies
Dr Amy Booth (DPhil Translational Health Sciences, 2021), Associate Fellow Dr Chris Winchester, Senior Research Fellow Professor Sara Shaw and colleagues have published a new study of twenty leading pharmaceutical company climate change targets, greenhouse gas emissions, and strategies to reduce them.
The pharmaceutical industry produces a large proportion of health system emissions that urgently needs to be addressed. The study showed that 85% of companies examined have reduced emissions from their own sources and 95% have reduced emissions from purchased energy. However, less than half have reduced emissions from their supply chain, which typically make up the majority of a company’s emissions.
Lead researcher Amy Booth said, ‘The contribution of pharmaceutical companies to health sector emissions urgently needs addressing, so it’s encouraging to see companies in our study setting climate change targets and reporting on their emissions according to international standards. Time is short and companies need to focus on their supply chain emissions, where better reporting and innovative solutions are needed’.
Chris Winchester, CEO of Oxford PharmaGenesis as well as being a fellow of college, said, ‘As a 500-strong HealthScience communications consultancy serving the pharmaceutical industry, we wanted to help understand the commitments that companies are making and the actions they need from suppliers like us to meet their goals. The research we undertook has informed our company’s investment in this area, starting with understanding our carbon footprint, joining the Sustainable Medicines Partnership and signing up to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). We are very proud that these efforts have been recognised with a Silver Medal for sustainability from EcoVadis’.
Sara Shaw added, ‘While significant action is urgently needed to address climate change, including in the healthcare sector, it’s not always easy to know what action is being taken, or where to target efforts. Our study was significant in mapping out work already being done by the big pharmaceutical firms, and highlighting the gaps, while setting out a call for action for much more. It’s one small part of a programme of research in this field, in which collaborations, such as that with Oxford PharmaGenesis, are critical to generating evidence and supporting action’.
Read ‘Pharmaceutical company targets and strategies to address climate change: content analysis of public reports from 20 pharmaceutical companies’ in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
