Boehringer Ingelheim, a pharmaceuticals company, has announced its plan for sustainability in line with the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).
The company will mainly focus on its more green pillar and its commitments to environmental sustainability, as one of the three pillars of its sustainable development for generations’ framework.
Boehringer Ingelheim is building on its track record in addressing unmet health needs and increasing ambitions to tackling global health and environmental challenges. The renewed approach continues the focus on the strength and value of collaboration and long term partnerships to contribute towards achieving a more sustainable future for society.
With its more green pillar, the company intends to become even more environmentally sustainable, continuing the significant reduction in the company’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy and resource use, and water footprint.
“MORE GREEN encompasses redefined environmental sustainability goals to address the most pressing issues facing our planet. At Boehringer Ingelheim, making our planet healthier is an integral part of our purpose to pioneer breakthrough therapies that transform the lives of humans and animals for generations. Environmental degradation not only exacerbates existing health issues, but also creates new challenges,” said Michel Pairet, Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim.
The sustainable development for generations framework follows the ambition to develop better therapies, enable better health care solutions and continuously contribute to a better world for future generations.
Boehringer Ingelheim is updating and advancing numerous projects and initiatives including;
- To support its commitment to become carbon neutral in company operations by 2030, Boehringer Ingelheim is building a new biomass power plant and infrastructure at its headquarters, an investment of EUR 205 million, to increase energy efficiency and the use of green electricity even further.
- To foster low carbon technologies and solutions, Boehringer Ingelheim has implemented an internal carbon price of EUR 100 per ton CO2 emissions for investments. This pricing system ensures investments are based on CO2 emissions created (and is higher than the emissions cost established by federal legislation in 2021).
- The ‘Clean Water’ initiative ensures that traces of pharmaceuticals in wastewater remain significantly below any effect level. Although Boehringer Ingelheim is striving for low levels of pharmaceutical residues in their wastewater, the Clean Water initiative aims to drive levels down even further, as well as engaging suppliers.
- The ‘MORE GREEN Fund’ addresses special decarbonization, water and circular economy projects. Boehringer Ingelheim focuses on environmental sustainability in its larger projects and provides another EUR 130 million for green projects that contribute to the global MORE GREEN goals. This fund has already helped to initiate approximately 40 new environmental sustainability projects since 2020.
Boehringer Ingelheim is the first pharmaceutical company in the European Union to receive the ‘GreenCanteen’ certification for its sustainable catering concept at the corporate headquarters in Ingelheim. The catering concept focuses on local food producers, seasonal product availability and the elimination of all single-use plastic.
MORE GREEN is one of three pillars within Boehringer Ingelheim’s ‘Sustainable Development – For Generations’ framework alongside MORE POTENTIAL, aimed at co-creating healthy, inclusive and sustainable communities, and MORE HEALTH, aimed at enabling better health for people and animals.