Rethinking Sustainability in the Pharmaceutical Industry – CPHI Frankfurt Interview

On site in the Messe Frankfurt for CPHI Frankfurt 2025 we had the chance to interview some of the speakers in the conference theatre, including Vera Carvalho Correia, Global ESG Senior Manager at Centrient Pharmaceuticals. 

What's the most exciting sustainability innovation you've seen in Pharma this year? 

I think it all well, it all comes down to AI. I truly believe that AI can support us and really focus in on what matters. And I hope that it really reduce our time and efforts in analysing data, in understanding the context and where we should focus on, so we can have time to put  action in place and to bring, hopefully, a more sustainable vision for the future. 

If you could change one thing about how the industry approaches sustainability, what would it be? 

I believe it's related to resources. I think that we still lack resources, whether it's human resources or economic resources to change, to invest in cleaner equipment, to invest in access to medicines for everyone. I believe that that's something that we need to change really fast. 

In five years’, what will we look back on and think, why did we do it that way? 

I think that will be collaboration – I've mentioned that in in my presentation – sustainability is not possible if it is a solo effect, we really need to collaborate, we need to share knowledge, we need to share solo learnings, because at the end of the day we all face the same challenges,  And we can all learn from the errors of others or the difficulties of others. if we look back today, I think we are already seeing some changes, but we still have some gaps and we still need to collaborate more in order to build this sustainable future. 

What's the sustainability myth that you would love to bust right now? 

I think decarbonisation is still being seen as a huge topic that it's not possible to achieve. We are also hearing leaders around the world saying that climate change is not a real thing, and I think we should overcome and rewrite these issues and put the investment, the right acknowledgement, the right research, into how to decarbonise our business, because I know that it is possible. We have seen it with COVID, already. Everyone coming together and putting in the same effort, the same responsibility and care, and I'm sure it come to fruition once we put that effort into decarbonisation. 

And finally, what needs to change the most when thinking about sustainability in the coming years? 

I think that people tend to look at sustainability in a very negative way. People tend to mostly talk about the challenges, about the difficulties, discussing how the climate crisis and the planet is already beyond saving. And I think we really need to turn that mindset to be a bit more positive, so we don't demotivate ourselves to get there. I am truly a believer that we’ll get that hopeful vision and that hopeful mindset in order to achieve a brighter, more sustainable future. 

See Vera's full presentation from Frankfurt online here.