SCHOTT Pharma has developed a blueprint to help pharmaceutical companies drastically reduce emissions.
The company has already achieved a significant milestone: switching to 100% green electricity in 2021 results today in 30% CO₂ savings (market-based calculation for a 10R vial) for the supply chain in parenteral drug administration.
SCHOTT Pharma now aims to reduce emissions by 50% in total by utilising FIOLAX Pro, a recently launched advanced pharmaceutical glass tubing from SCHOTT.
The new Type I borosilicate glass tubing will be manufactured in the first climate-friendly electric melting tank at the SCHOTT site in Bavaria, Germany.
The melting process will change from a state-of-the-art oxy-fuel technology based on natural gas to an electric melting technology.
Finally, SCHOTT Pharma plans to decrease emissions by an additional 20% through various measures, for example adopting a circular economy approach.
Combining all three steps will lead to a potential carbon emission reduction of about 70%.
Decarbonising the pharma supply chain requires collaboration throughout the industry. Today, pharma companies can already test SCHOTT Pharma’s core product segment, including standard vials, ampoules, cartridges, and glass syringes, made of the new glass tubing.
More than half (54%) of SCHOTT Pharma’s supply chain emissions stem from the used glass tubing, with 38% coming from the converting processes and 8% from packaging.
The company’s three-step approach will not only create dramatic results in the efforts to achieving climate neutrality by 2030, it will also help the pharmaceutical industry to implement sustainable practices in their manufacturing supply chains.
“With this change, we intend to give our customers an advantage on their sustainability journey and support them in their ambitious goals. This will help pharma companies develop more sustainable products for a better future,” says Andreas Reisse, CEO of SCHOTT Pharma.
Partnering for sustainability
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time. The global economy has to find innovative solutions to decarbonise its production and the supply chain.
To follow a reliable and scientific approach, more than 7000 companies have committed to science-based targets, including 19 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies.
As part of the research-driven SCHOTT Group who just joined the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), SCHOTT Pharma also strives to align its targets with the latest climate science.
For SCHOTT Pharma a green transformation can only be achieved together. That is why the company is actively participating in associations and cofounded the Alliance to Zero. This pharmaceutical supply chain initiative focuses on facilitating the transition of injection devices to net zero.
“The pharmaceutical industry faces steep challenges in advancing next-generation drugs while making manufacturing supply chains more sustainable, and SCHOTT Pharma is a partner to help them achieve both,” says Arne Kloke, Head of Services and Sustainability at SCHOTT Pharma and President of the Alliance to Zero.
“We understand the pressures and constraints that companies face, and through cross-company initiatives we can play it green together.”
