Dairy manure helps cut emissions

CHRIS MCCULLOUGH For Agri-View

One of the world’s pharmaceutical giants is using dairy-cow manure and food waste to help reduce its reliance on natural gas –and to cut carbon emissions at the same time.

United Kingdom drug company AstraZeneca is partnering with Vanguard Renewables, based in Massachusetts, to use biogas for heat and power in all its U.S.-based research and manufacturing facilities. The change is expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

From June 2023, AstraZeneca will begin purchasing renewable natural gas produced by Vanguard Renewables for its Newark Campus in Delaware, where the company packages 26 medicines for distribution across the United States. The campus also makes medical formulations for global supply.

By 2026 this collaboration is