An in-depth look at sustainability through the people at CPHI Milan

CPHI Milan was the stage for the launch of The Sustainability Collective from CPHI, aiming to bring together experts, companies, and initiatives in sustainability across the industry to action menaingful change.

At CPHI Milan, the Sustainability team at CPHI launched The Sustainability Collective, a group dedicated to leading sustainable change in the industry. The Collective brings together change makers from across the pharmaceutical industry, to enable collaboration and knowledge sharing.

At CPHI Milan a Sustainability survey was conducted by the Strategic Insights and Research team, covering the top environmental challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry. The Collective also hosted a seminal sustainability discussion on site, covering what the key players want to see from The Sustainability Collective, and how they can enable further collaboration.

The following infographic details the responses from the survey and discussion in more detail. 

The pharmaceutical industry faces several key challenges in sustainability, including cost and financial concerns, energy consumption, recyclability, waste management, supply chain issues and regulatory compliance. The discussion in Milan in 2024 with 14 participants, including 9 sustainability specialists, highlighted that the sector lags behind others due to strict safety regulations, lacks standardised sustainability goals, and struggles with talent retention due to slow progress compared to other industries.

The survey participants emphasised several crucial requirements for The Sustainability Collective's success, including the need for actionable strategies, bridging the gap between regulation and innovation, and fostering cross-field collaboration. They specifically called for reliable data collection from pharmacies and hospitals, regulatory incentives for sustainable ingredients, and improved measurement systems for energy costs and carbon savings. Positive developments were also noted in the industry, such as increased ESG prominence in private equity decisions and the appointment of ESG experts to pharmaceutical company boards.

The Collective aims to serve as a central hub for sustainability initiatives, focusing on building connections and aligning diverse sustainability efforts across the pharmaceutical sector.

To see the infographic in full, please click on the image above.