- Boehringer Ingelheim marks COP26 by announcing updates to its strategic approach to sustainable development
- The company commits to becoming carbon neutral in company operations by 2030 and further reducing the overall water footprint, operational waste to landfill and resource use
- Boehringer Ingelheim implements ambitious internal carbon price of EUR 100 per ton CO2 emissions to foster low carbon technologies and solutions
- The company invests EUR 130 million to implement strategic green projects contributing to environmental commitments
Beirut, 9 November 2021 – On the occasion of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Boehringer Ingelheim shares an update on its strategic approach to sustainability. Specifically, the MORE GREEN pillar and its commitments to environmental sustainability, as one of the three pillars of its ‘Sustainable Development – For Generations’ framework.
Continuing a journey that began more than 135 years ago, 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 strategic approach continues the focus on the strength and value of collaboration and long-term partnerships to contribute towards achieving a healthier and more sustainable future for society.
With its MORE GREEN pillar, Boehringer Ingelheim intends to become even more environmentally sustainable, continuing the significant reduction in the company’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy and resource use, as well as water footprint. It updates the environmental sustainability goals, to which the organization commits to:
- Becoming carbon neutral in company operations by 2030 (Scope 1 and 2)[1]
- Further reducing the water footprint, particularly at sites affected by water scarcity, as well as protecting clean water in the communities in which the company operates
- Utilizing aspects of circularity to reduce overall operational waste to landfill, as well as applying eco-design and green chemistry concepts to all new products
Michel Pairet, Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim with responsibility for the Innovation Unit, says: “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.”
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. It further evolves Boehringer Ingelheim’s commitments and significantly increases the company’s impact on health, society, and environmental issues, in alignment with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s commitment to MORE GREEN is underscored by a series of initiatives. Now the company is updating and advancing numerous projects and initiatives – many of which have been active for over a decade. Significant milestones include:
- 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.
About ‘Sustainable Development – For Generations’
Boehringer Ingelheim operates to serve the
needs of human and animal health. This makes the company’s position unique in
addressing intersecting sustainable development challenges. The ‘Sustainable
Development – For Generations’ framework has three pillars: ‘More Health’,
‘More Green’ and ‘More Potential’. Through these pillars, Boehringer Ingelheim
implements 20 initiatives around the globe to drive the company’s contributions
and impact. These are in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals. To succeed in reaching these goals, the company has renewed its
committed approach to working in partnership, calling for the multi-stakeholder
collaboration needed to tackle complex global challenges.
[1] Scope 1 – All direct emissions from activities of the company and under the control of Boehringer Ingelheim. Scope 2 – Indirect emissions created through purchased energy and used by Boehringer Ingelheim for company operations.