Manufacturing
with the programme. We also need to partner with third parties such as recycling experts. The multi- company pilot was launched in Denmark because of the existing recycling infrastructure in the country.” The human factor, she stresses, is key to the success of programs like this. “The greatest science and technology is worth nothing if we don’t use it. The only way to make it happen is to engage our colleagues and our suppliers. These examples might look very simple on paper, but thousands of little things must be solved to make them happen.”
The human factor Within the business itself, engagement is equally important. One of the biggest lessons Obermueller has learned over the years is that the only way to build a sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing operation is with the commitment of every single employee, from labs to office-based staff, from the shop floor to the members of the C-Suite. “It takes a top-down and a bottom-up approach,” she says. “That means role modelling from top management but also ideas coming from employees.” Merck Healthcare’s Green Teams are a case in point. Made up of employees who have a passion for sustainability, these groups drive environmental awareness and engagement across the company by implementing training programmes and local projects designed to reduce the ecological footprint of specific operations. There are currently Green Teams in 16 sites across 11 countries. The first was in Aubonne, Switzerland, where, since its inception, simple initiatives have been making a big difference. For example, the Green Team suggested replacing plastic water bottles with water fountains directly connected to the municipal water supply. Together with other employee ideas that have been implemented at the site, this has resulted in a reduction of 15t of waste and 366t of CO2
emissions per year.
There have also been non-site-specific suggestions from Green Teams that got Obermueller thinking. “One Green Team member asked me if I knew about the environmental pollution caused by sending emails all the time; I had no clue,” she admits. “We ended up talking more about this and I learned that a single email that is solely text-based emits 4g of CO2
digital behaviours can also contribute to the reduction of our ecological footprint.”
Manufacturing and chemistry systems Simple changes to manufacturing operations also contribute significantly to reducing pharmaceutical businesses’ carbon footprint. Powering down heating and cooling systems at the weekend, reusing the water from facilities’ cooling systems and reusing palettes several times instead of
World Pharmaceutical Frontiers /
www.worldpharmaceuticals.net
disposing of them immediately are easy wins that can have a big impact. “Of course, in this world of legislation, we need to be very sensitive and make sure that even changes like this do not compromise the quality of our methods,” Obermueller stresses. On the green chemistry front, it is an even more important consideration. “We are still examining the processes that take place very early in the drug development process,” Obermueller says. “The whole industry is looking at how we can collaborate together to be greener in our processes and really look at ‘sustainability by design’, but it is still early days.”
Merck redesigned its blister packaging for pharmaceuticals and made it 40% smaller and totally free of plastic.
“We ended up talking more about this and I learned that a single email that is solely text- based emits 4g of CO2
.”
The important point is to be adaptable to new opportunities — and always, always, always measure. Merck Healthcare reviews its KPIs, including those on wastewater and greenhouse gas emissions, every quarter at the production site level and in global leadership meetings. “We are always looking at where we are and how we can evolve, and revisiting our measures accordingly,” Obermueller says.
; conscious
Building a sustainable operation takes patience, commitment and cooperation — and a measured, step-by-step approach. For the foreseeable future at Merck Healthcare, that looks like evolving the product, logistics and patient initiatives that are already in place: using fewer raw materials, continuing to reduce the carbon emissions associated with transportation and building on the lessons learnt through European take-back schemes. None of it will happen overnight. But good things rarely do. ●
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shutterstock.com
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