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Ozone depletion

The ozone layer is essential to human survival because it filters out harmful ultra-violet (UV) rays from the sun. Ozone depleting substances (ODSs) include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and halons.

CFCs are the main ODSs we use – as the propellant gas in metered dose inhalers (MDI) for asthma sufferers. The CFC is released when patients use the inhalers.

In 2005, 198 thousand kilograms of CFC propellant were released when patients used our products in the EU. We have stopped making these products in the US and the information on CFC releases from patient use is not compiled outside the EU where this is not required by regulation. A much smaller amount of CFCs – 51 thousand kilograms – were released during worldwide production. We now offer a selection of alternatives to ODS-containing inhalers in most countries and plan to eliminate the use of ODSs from our product portfolio by 2010. See metered dose inhalers.

Introducing alternatives helped us to reduce ozone depletion potential from production per unit sales by 19% in 2005 and by 74% since 2001 – meaning we have beaten our target of a 50% reduction per unit sales since 2001.

We also use ODSs in some cooling systems and for other ancillary uses at GSK facilities. We have switched to using hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in some cooling systems. HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer but do contribute to global warming. Ozone depletion potential from ancillary use per unit sales decreased by 36% since 2001, meaning we have missed our 2005 target to completely eliminate these emissions. We recognise that the only way to do this is to eliminate CFCs from cooling systems. Our new strategy will focus on installing new equipment to achieve this. We will set a new target in 2006 to eliminate CFC use in line with regulations based on the Montreal Protocol.

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