We’re committed to delivering the highest quality products for patients, doctors and customers, while also working to reduce our environmental footprint. Our approach includes integrating sustainable design solutions into our product innovation processes, taking into account the environmental impacts throughout a product’s lifecycle—from design and formulation, through raw material sourcing and manufacturing, to packaging and delivery, and product use and end-of-life.
For example:
- Through the Digital Health in a Circular Economy (DiCE) collaborative, we are partnering with 20 other organizations to address the growing challenge of digital health waste. Together, we are looking at every point in the lifecycle of digital health devices to identify opportunities to extend the use or responsibly dispose of these products. DiCE received co-funding through the European Union’s Horizon Europe program.
- The plastic trays used in our plaque psoriasis line of medicines were replaced with a Pulp Injection Molding (PIM) tray across all markets. The use of injection-molded pulp is a significant breakthrough in pharmaceutical packaging, particularly since PIM trays can be disposed of through regular cardboard recycling waste streams, available in most countries.
- Our Safe Returns® program for home-administered immunology products was designed to improve convenience and sustainability for patients, including the removal of the hazardous material classification which eliminates the need for patients to prepare special paperwork for handling by mainstream postal services. The program, available in the U.S., Switzerland, and Norway, allows patients to use paper envelopes to return the devices after use instead of plastic containers. In parallel, we are developing our capability to disassemble the collected devices from the Safe Returns® program to close the loop and reuse or recycle materials and components.