“The healthcare industry is responsible for 5% of global emissions, which is more than aviation,” says Robert Williams Director of Sustainable Procurement at AstraZeneca.
As Vice Chair of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI), he regularly engages with a wide cross-section of stakeholders from across the industry.
Speaking to the PharmaSource podcast ahead of CDMO Live, Rob explains that focusing on suppliers is critical if the pharma industry is to realise its ESG and Net Zero ambitions.
“As more than 80% of PSCI member companies’ emissions are in the supply chain (97% in the case of AstraZeneca), the focus has to be on working closely with suppliers to achieve decarbonisation goals.”
“It’s clear that there is more that needs to be done globally, as we go beyond tier one and two suppliers, right back to the raw materials that we use,” he says.
The PSCI is the leading association for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, focused on driving an agenda for safety, environmental, and social outcomes across the global value chain.
Sustainable Procurement
Procurement teams are increasingly focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations.
“Procurement is the focal point for that engagement between the company and the suppliers,” says Rob. In his role as Director of Sustainable Procurement at AstraZeneca, Rob Williams supports all of the category managers across the business to decarbonise.
“AstraZeneca has committed to decarbonise by 2030, and towards net zero by 2045, framing its goals as ‘Healthy Planet, healthy society and healthy people’,” says Rob. In order to make these targets concrete, “these goals from group sustainability then need to be translated into the tangible contractual language of procurement, and then into black-and-white policies for suppliers.”
“It’s essential to express expectations clearly in contracts, avoiding ambiguity. Suppliers need to understand their obligations and opportunities related to these emerging issues.”
The importance of collaborative leverage
Rob believes that the pharmaceutical industry is ahead of others when it comes to acting collaboratively. “In pharma, we recognise the connection between climate change and the impact on human health.”
Collaboration allows the industry to move forward faster, Rob explains.
“It’s really helpful for suppliers across the industry to know that all of their customers are working together towards sustainability goals and have aligned expectations.”
“There is collaborative leverage from getting supply chains to act together. When three or more companies ask the same question to suppliers, 95% of the time they will respond and work towards improving their maturity.”
Data-driven category management
To embed sustainability within the day-to-day work of category managers, it is important to give them transparent data, says Rob.
“We need to give them the information at hand so they can understand where the challenges are – whether that’s human rights or environmental – and what levers they can pull.”
AstraZeneca recently won a ‘Supply Chain Engagement Award’, largely based on their rollout of EcoVadis across their supplier base to assess the maturity of their suppliers.
AstraZeneca now has 2000 suppliers rated by EcoVadis, representing over 60% of their spend. “The scoring is robust, and provides a great indication for suppliers about how they benchmark against their peers,” says Rob. “It helps us really support our suppliers to develop their maturity.”
Science-Based Targets (SBTi) are another key measure used across the industry. “60% of AstraZeneca’s spend is now with suppliers who have committed to SBTi,” says Rob.
“We also use the CDP supply chain programme to deep dive on carbon, which is essential for tackling scope three.”
Key priorities for the year ahead
The PSCI’s latest Materiality Assessment flags a wide range of issues that need to be addressed – from anti-bribery to animal testing to climate resilience. Where do you start?
Asked to highlight his priorities for the year ahead for decarbonisation of the sector, Rob highlights two issues he believes to be key: Electricity and Clean Heat.
“Every company we work with uses electricity, so the conversion to renewable electricity to decarbonise our supply chain is essential – that’s a really key priority.”
Transitioning to clean heat is an equally important issue. “We need to collaborate on how we can support suppliers to switch away from using fossil gas to using alternative sources of heat.”
Driving the agenda: Passion, prioritisation and partnership
Rob shares his personal advice for anyone seeking to make an impact in driving the sustainability agenda:
Passion
In sustainability, there are always barriers to overcome, so it is important to maintain your passion and sense of purpose.
“Passion helps us to overcome challenges. Whether it’s the volume of work, technical complexities, or driving new opportunities, passion is what helps us to overcome challenges.”
Prioritise
“Focus on two or three key things because otherwise your action can get diluted,” says Rob.
“Have key metrics that are really measurable, tangible, and practical – and that can be done now.”
Partner
To be successful, it is important to have a ‘partnership mindset’ when approaching negotiations with the supplier base.
“Make sure to prioritise working with suppliers who are engaged with what you are trying to achieve,” Rob adds.
Don’t miss the Scope Three interactive roundtable at CDMO Live, hosted by Robert Williams on behalf of the PSCI. Register for your ticket here.
