Why must Pharma act on sustainability now?

From drug discovery and R&D to manufacturing, supply, and distribution, every facet of the pharma ecosystem is under increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices.

Where is this pressure coming from?

• Customers - NHS England has a sustainability agenda and is pushing forward fast with this. Anyone wanting to supply in the UK therefore needs to have sustainability at its core. NHS England has a sustainability procurement page, which contains timelines. For example, by 2027, all suppliers will have to publicly report targets, emissions and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan for global emissions aligned to the NHS net zero target for all of their scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Already, since 2022, all NHS procurements include a minimum 10% net zero and social value weighting.

• Incoming talent - Employees, particularly new people entering the workforce, are increasingly attracted to join and stay at businesses that put sustainability at its core. The message is simple: if you want to compete for leading talent, you need to be genuinely focused on sustainability.

• Funders - Whether lenders or investors, the people providing money are increasingly seeing and requiring people to take sustainability seriously. This helps them in turn to be seen to be behaving responsibly.

• Big Pharma and other industry players - Facing their own sustainability pressures, anyone who you collaborate with in the industry is requiring sustainability from their partners too.

• End Consumers - Some products are made specifically for end customers. Particularly when consumers are buying OTC (over the counter) medicines, more and more consumers are being driven by pro-sustainability behaviour including reducing single use plastic. The more sustainable products are, the more likely they are to be sold to the widest group of people.

• Regulations - There are specific regulatory requirements in different territories. If you are doing business in Europe, for example, you may have to meet the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which has already started to be brought in and will apply to more SMEs from 2026. This will require some businesses to report on how sustainability issues (as well as other social and governance factors) impact their business and operations.

What we also see is that these stakeholders are not just interested in creating pressure on pharma businesses. From NHS England to Big Pharma, employees and funders, there is a desire to work collaboratively with industry players to make this change and take responsibility for sustainable business practices.

Greenwashing will not do. People see through it. The action has to be genuine and authentic, or these stakeholders will not be impressed, and it could be detrimental to a business's reputation.

On a positive note, there is an opportunity here. If competitors are not engaged in a genuine sustainability agenda, but you are, you can build your reputation, have more likelihood of winning customer contracts, access to money, and recruit and retain the best talent.

Here more about why sustainability matters to pharma now and what to do about it at the 2025 PING Conference

The theme of VWV's PING Conference on 12 May 2025 is Sustainability - What Must Pharma Do Now? Speakers include the Head of Medicines Net Zero at NHS England, Peter Morgan; as well as Director of Planet Mark, Andrew Griffiths; and others. There will be opportunities to hear from experts about what pressures there are for pharma businesses, as well as what can be done about them.

If you would like to be invited to attend the invitation-only PING Conference 2025, please contact Paul Gershlick in our Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences team on 07795 570072, or complete the form below.