AstraZeneca’s Approach to Product Sustainability: Minimizing Environmental Footprint in Pharmaceuticals

AstraZeneca is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its medicines throughout the entire product life cycle—from research and development to manufacturing, packaging, and delivery. By integrating sustainability deeply into its operations, the company aims to support more sustainable healthcare delivery while maintaining medical efficacy and safety.

Key Sustainability Targets

• Resource Efficiency: 90% of total chemical syntheses will meet resource efficiency targets at product launch by 2025.
• Sustainable Packaging: 95% of paper-based packaging materials are to come from sustainable sources annually.
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Reduction of Scope 3 emissions linked to the product value chain by embedding science-driven, sustainable decision-making.

Life Cycle Focus and Assessments

AstraZeneca embeds environmental, health, and safety considerations throughout medicines development, including:

• Conducting Environmental Sustainability Assessments for manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), formulation, packaging, and devices.
• Implementing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) programme aligned with ISO 14040 and 14044 standards to analyze the environmental impacts of medicines accounting for 90% of sales revenue.
• Developing an internal Product Sustainability Index (PSI) to evaluate launched products and guide improvements.
• Employing Green Chemistry and Engineering principles to enhance sustainability in medicines development.
• Investing in innovative science and technologies that reduce environmental impacts by simplifying synthetic processes and improving novel medicine manufacturing.
• Redesigning packaging with circular economy principles to minimize waste.
• Tracking resource efficiency via Process Mass Intensity (PMI) metrics for sustainable manufacturing evaluation.

Product Sustainability in Action

Next-Generation Propellant for Respiratory Medicines

Chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD, are associated with significant carbon footprints. AstraZeneca is pioneering the shift from traditional pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDI) to next-generation propellants:

• The new propellant HFO-1234ze(E) has a near-zero Global Warming Potential (99.9% lower than conventional propellants).
• In May 2025, AstraZeneca received UK approval for its first inhaled medicine using this next-generation propellant.
• Regulatory approvals are underway in the EU and China, with plans to transition the full pMDI portfolio to this sustainable option by 2030 under its Ambition Zero Carbon strategy.

Product Sustainability Index Deployment

By the end of 2024, 71% of AstraZeneca’s launched products (by sales revenue) had been assessed through the PSI to measure environmental performance. This program is also piloting PSI use in development projects with an initial focus on carbon footprint reduction.

Sector Collaboration and Future Standards

AstraZeneca actively collaborates with industry peers and health system stakeholders through groups like the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force, Pharmaceutical Environment Group (PEG), and NHS England. These efforts support the development of a unified, sector-wide Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) standard for medicines. Partnering with the British Standards Institution (BSI) and experts such as Quantis, AstraZeneca aims to foster transparency, standardized impact measurement, and environmental impact reduction across the pharmaceutical industry.

Conclusion

AstraZeneca demonstrates leadership in pharmaceutical product sustainability by integrating green chemistry, advanced science, and rigorous environmental assessments into its operations. Its forward-looking initiatives—especially sustainable respiratory care innovations and collaborative LCA standard setting—set a benchmark for reducing healthcare’s environmental footprint while continuing to deliver safe and effective medicines.

References and Further Reading

• Bell, J. et al. “Greenhouse gas emissions associated with COPD care in the UK,” European Respiratory Journal 2021.
• World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines, 2023.
• AstraZeneca Corporate Sustainability Reports (2025).

For more on AstraZeneca’s sustainability efforts and product innovations, visit their official sustainability webpage.

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