A NEW academic paper has been published critiquing the commitment of Australia's 10 largest pharmaceutical companies to achieving net zero emissions.
The pharmaceutical industry in Australia is responsible for 19% of greenhouse gas emissions in the health sector.
The 10 companies assessed were selected based on total costs incurred by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) on listed medications during the 2020-21 and 2022-23 financial years.
Authors for the paper came from the University of Melbourne, Austin Health, and New England Local Health District in Newcastle.
Results found the 10 companies studied are moving toward stated net-zero commitments at different rates, with the companies able to be split into three groups.
The first group consisting of AstraZeneca, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and Merck & Co were found to be hitting near-term targets and reporting regularly and consistently on emissions monitoring levels, with well-defined commitments and quantified evidence.
The second group - comprising AbbVie and Roche - were found to have made commitments to achieving net-zero but disclosure records were limited.
The third group - Viatris, Vertex, and Arrotex - had not made any public commitment, had no defined targets and were failing to disclose and monitor emissions evidence.
In their conclusions, the paper's authors called for gaps in standardised reporting processes to be closed, with further research on industry-wide sustainability policy and practice needed. ML
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