Pharmaceuticals are estimated to contribute to up to 55% of health care’s carbon footprint.
As pressure increases for health systems to move towards net zero, we explore how pharmaceutical companies are playing their part to reduce their climate impact.

Recently published research, led by Dr Amy Booth (medical doctor, PhD candidate at the University of Oxford), in collaboration with Dr Chris Winchester (CEO Oxford PharmaGenesis) and co-authors Professor Sara Shaw, Dr Stuart Faulkner and Dr Alexandra Jager at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, analysed the climate change targets of leading pharmaceutical companies, progress on reducing their emissions, and the strategies that companies are implementing to reduce their climate impact.

The research showed that companies are setting climate change targets and for the most part, showing reductions in scope 1 and 2 emissions through a range of strategies.

However, scope 3 emissions were inconsistently reported, and more work needs to be done to reduce them.

With something as urgent as climate change, collaboration between industry, academia, governments and other stakeholders is vital to reaching targets and reducing emissions.

You can read the full article at: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3206

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