At a Glance: Pharmaceuticals and Sustainability

The Big Pharma companies use a lot of resources to produce drugs. Drug companies obviously want to grow and expand, but with that, many are still working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and waste. The conundrum is the ability to reduce and expand simultaneously.

Most of us know Johnson & Johnson for its line of infant care, but the company also provides over-the-counter drugs, surgical equipment, orthopedic products, contact lenses and prescription drugs. In J&J’s recent sustainability report, the company claims to have reduced water consumption by 6% in the past two years, added several solar installations in its sister companies (bringing the total to 10 solar installations), reduced hazardous waste by 4%; and reduced non-hazardous waste by 6% in the past two years. J&J has also partnered with the EPA in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14% by 2010. Yet J&J purchased renewable energy certificates, which is controversial because the company doesn’t directly practice renewable energy, it sometimes only financially supports these efforts.

Merck & Co. makes drugs like Pepcid, Singulair, Nasonex, Nuvaring, Propecia and Gardasil. Merck’s 2008 corporate responsibility report gives data on the company’s environmental practices through research, manufacturing operations and even employee travel. Copy paper usage at Merck has been cut 46% since 2001. The company received a Sustained Excellence Award from Energy Star earlier this year. In April 2009, the company’s Whitehouse Station, NJ, headquarters installed 7.5 acres of sun-tracking solar panels. The annual report claims that this produces 2.5 million kilowatt hours of energy, and is expected to save emissions the equivalent to 200 cars’ emissions per year. Merck also reduced its waste by 23% from 2005, thanks in large part to “increases in solvent recovery and reductions in on-site production volumes.” The company partners with Hopeline from Verizon Wireless to donate and recycle cell phones to benefit victims of domestic abuse, and in the last three years, 31,000 cell phones have been donated for reuse or recycling.

Eli Lilly and Company makes Cymbalta, Cialis, several diabetes and cancer medicines and more. According to Lilly’s public environmental performance information, the company set goals in 2003 to cut energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions by one-third by 2010. Lilly reached this goal two years early and set new, more rigorous goals for coming years. One goal involves cutting water consumption by 25% for 2013; in 2007 the company used more than 34 billion liters of water, and if it meets its 2013 goal, that number will dip down to about 26 billion liters. That’s still lots of water, but a significant decrease nonetheless. With facilities all over the world, Lilly works in certain communities to promote habitat conservation. Its projects include fish sampling in Indiana and commissioning long-term research for aquatic life off the southern coast of Ireland.

Proctor & Gamble has been in business for more than 170 years. Proctor & Gamble’s 2009 sustainability report outlines the company’s five strategies for sustainability, which include products, operations, social responsibility, employees and stakeholders. While P&G has normal goal of energy reduction like the companies listed above, its sustainability report gives consumers insight on interesting ways it’s reducing waste. In China, P&G factories find new paths for products by modifying components of a facial cream to manufacture a leather care product. In Budapest, scrap feminine pads are used as kiln fuel for a local cement factory, reducing P&G waste and saving fuel at the cement factory. The Global Asset Recovery Purchases (GARP) team is responsible for finding new ways to use non-recyclable products and reduce waste.