AstraZeneca Manufacturing Switches to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) to Reduce Emissions

AstraZeneca has recently announced a partnership with Vanguard Renewables to supply renewable natural gas (RNG) to its U.S. manufacturing facilities. This move is part of AstraZeneca’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact by using organic-produced fuel in all of its U.S. manufacturing facilities by 2026.

The partnership will begin this month at AstraZeneca’s Newark campus in Delaware, where 26 medicines are currently produced for both U.S. and global markets. The RNG is created through a process called anaerobic digestion, which involves using bacteria to break down organic matter such as animal manure and food waste in an oxygen-free environment.

This collaboration is expected to allow AstraZeneca to use up to 650,000 million British thermal units or 190,500 megawatt hours of RNG per year at its U.S. sites. This is equivalent to the energy needed to heat more than 17,800 U.S. homes for one year.

Pam Cheng, AstraZeneca’s head of global operations and IT and chief sustainability officer, stated that the company recognizes the connection between human health and the health of the planet and is committed to reducing its carbon footprint.

This partnership is part of AstraZeneca’s Ambition Zero Carbon program, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its global operations by 98% by 2026 compared to 2015 levels. As part of the deal with Vanguard Renewables, AstraZeneca will have access to RNG from three U.S. on-farm anaerobic digester facilities for at least the next 15 years.