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Environment

Our business has the potential for significant impact on the environment, through the energy, water and resources that we use, and the waste we produce.

We work to reduce this impact and address broader sustainability issues such as product stewardship, resource use and material and energy efficiency. We also need to play our part in addressing global challenges such as climate change.

Our Environment Health and Safety (EHS) vision is to achieve sustainable competitive business advantage through leadership and excellence in environment, health and safety.

Our EHS Stakeholder Panel in the UK allows experts from across GSK to meet stakeholders and discuss emerging issues. It provides a valuable perspective on our EHS performance. We plan to extend our stakeholder engagement activities to the US, Europe, and beyond over the next few years, beginning in the US in 2007.

Here we describe just a few elements of our environmental work. More details and performance data are provided in our full CR report.

Emissions trading
We aim to reduce our energy use and CO2 emissions by improving energy efficiency, using energy from renewable sources. A number of our sites in the UK also participate in the UK government's emissions trading scheme (ETS). This is a voluntary scheme which rewards companies with lower energy taxes if they improve energy efficiency. Sites that keep emissions below an agreed target can “bank” the spare credits to help them comply with limits in subsequent years, or they can sell the credits to other participants at a profit. In 2006, all GSK sites complied with their Climate Change Agreements.

Sixteen GSK sites are also covered by the European Union emissions trading scheme which came into force at the start of 2005.

In 2006, we used 19 million gigajoules of energy, approximately 1.4 per cent less than in 2005.  Energy consumption per £ sales was 8.1 per cent lower than in 2005.

Metered dose inhalers
The ozone layer is essential to human survival because it filters out harmful ultra-violet rays from the sun. It has been damaged by ozone depleting substances (ODS), mainly chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and halons.

Traditionally, CFCs were used as propellants in Metered dose inhalers (MDIs) – the devices used to deliver doses of medication to asthma sufferers. CFCs are ideal for this role because they are non-toxic, non-reactive, non-flammable, and have no odour or taste. However when a patient uses the MDI, the propellant is released into the atmosphere contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol bans the production of CFCs but exempts a number of “essential uses” which include MDIs. Nevertheless we plan to eliminate the use of CFCs from our products by 2010.

We have stopped using CFCs in the US and the European Union and now offer a selection of alternatives to ODS-containing inhalers in most countries. The main alternative propellant we use is HFC 134a. We have also invested heavily in dry powder delivery systems that do not use CFCs or HFCs. We will continue to use CFC MDIs in India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Latin America until 2010.

In 2006, 186 thousand kilograms of CFC propellant were released when patients used our products. Ozone depletion potential from patient use of MDIs in the US and European Union was 52 per cent lower than in 2005. 

Improving material efficiency 
We aim to improve the efficiency with which we convert raw materials to finished product. This will help us to reduce our consumption of resources, the waste we generate and the cost of production.

Pharmaceutical processes are typically very complex, often requiring relatively large amounts of solvent. Typically, the industry uses about 100 kilograms of raw material for every kilogram of pharmaceutical ingredient produced. In other words, 99 per cent of raw materials are wasted. It represents a waste of valuable resources, with financial as well as environmental consequences.

We have set a target to double the average material efficiency of manufacturing processes for new products introduced between 2006 and 2010. We are already making dramatic improvements, as the case study demonstrates.

The EHS Plan for Excellence
We established our EHS Plan for Excellence in 2001. This sets out our aspirations and includes specific, measurable targets for reducing our environmental impact in key areas.

In 2006 we reviewed and updated the Plan, and set new five year targets. The new plan includes renewed focus on fundamental environmental programmes, a commitment to transparent communication and strengthens our focus on environmental sustainability through operational efficiency. As well as focussing on regulatory compliance and risk management we will also look for ways that our EHS programmes can add value to our business and create new opportunities. For example, we want to move from cleaning up hazardous waste to choosing processes that produce less hazardous waste.

Our new targets commit us to achieving annual reductions per £ of sales as follows:

Energy use	1%
Solid waste	1%
Air emissions (volatile organic emissions)	2%
Water use	2%
Waste water (chemical oxygen demand)	3%

We aim to eliminate completely ozone depleting substances by 2010 and to achieve an average 2 per cent materials efficiency in manufacturing processes for new products introduced between 2006 and 2010 (see above).

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