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Meaningful Impact, Healthier Future
AstraZeneca transforms the delivery of healthcare to become more resilient, equitable, and net zero
BY ANDY WIRTHS
ASTRAZENECA IS A GLOBAL biopharmaceutical company that aims to deliver innovative medicines to millions of patients around the world. But beyond our core business, we are also committed to operating sustainably in a way that recognizes the interconnection between climate and health.
The company’s sustainability strategy focuses on three main pillars: access to healthcare, environmental protection, and ethics and transparency. Under each pillar, we have set ambitious targets and initiatives that are measured and reported annually. Our efforts and accomplishments have been widely recognized by multiple organizations and resulted in awards and certifications that position the company as a sustainability leader in the pharmaceutical industry.
Recognizing the strong correlation between healthy people and a healthy planet, we have taken bold action. We launched our flagship Ambition Zero Carbon program in 2020 to drive deep decarbonization across our value chain and find ways to deliver science and medicines sustainably as part of the transition to net zero health systems and a circular economy.
We are also putting nature at the heart of our work, investing in biodiversity through partnerships with local communities and wildlife experts. Our reforestation partnership with National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will help contribute to the restoration of water quality and wildlife habitats within the Delaware River Watershed, while at the same time helping to combat climate change by increasing carbon storage. The partnership will fund tree plantings that maximize the dual role of carbon storage and habitat restoration.
Teams here in our home state of Delaware are embedding sustainability into our operations at the Newark manufacturing site and advancing our pledge to deliver life-changing medicines in a way that is respectful of our planet. We recently celebrated our sustainability commitments during an exciting ceremony, ‘Clean and Green – Newark Flips the Switch,’ where AstraZeneca leadership and elected officials gathered to unveil new solar panels to power manufacturing and reduce utility spend, while also unleashing a new source of renewable gas.
Teams here in our home state of Delaware are embedding sustainability into our operations at the Newark manufacturing site and advancing our pledge to deliver life-changing medicines in a way that is respectful of our planet.
The transition to 100% renewable energy is a key element of our Ambition Zero Carbon program, and we are proud that through a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Vanguard Renewables, we are enabling the delivery of renewable natural gas to all of our sites in the United States by the end of 2026—starting with our manufacturing site here in Newark, which became the first in the U.S. to begin purchasing renewable natural gas to power the campus.
The Newark site is also utilizing 7,800 solar panels to power building operations. Our utility spend at the site will be reduced by 20-30%, marking another important milestone in delivering emissions reductions in line with our Ambition Zero Carbon program.
It is important that we remember it is incumbent upon all of us to do our part—from pursuing innovative decarbonization partnerships to working across the entire health ecosystem for more sustainable patient care to build a healthier, more sustainable future.
Our 90,000 AstraZeneca employees worldwide will continue to advance our sustainability agenda and drive positive change beyond the impact of our medicines by embedding sustainability into everything we do—from the lab to the patient.
Andy Wirths is senior vice president of supply for the Americas region at AstraZeneca.
