Pharma supply chain companies support sustainability

With many pharma supply chain companies in the market, it pays off to collaborate. For the pharmaceutical industry, outsourcing does not only mean an increase in efficiency and compliance. It is also a way to make operations environmentally more sustainable. 

Companies are striving to find more environmentally friendly practices. Therefore, their partners and supply chains have also become an important part of the sustainability puzzle. According to the 2020  State of the Supply Chain Sustainability Report by MIT, almost 80 percent of companies believe that sustainability is, or will become a part of supply chain professionals’ core responsibilities. 

For the pharmaceutical industry, building strong networks and supply chains is mainly driven by the need to focus on their core business and drive innovation. But outsourcing can be a step towards greener practices, too. A good example of this is the humble workwear. 

Industrial scale washing saves energy and water 

“One could think that laundry is just laundry. But when it’s done on an industrial scale, the level of hygiene stays high while the usage of energy, water and detergents becomes lower,” explains Taru Jokinen, Director of Service Management at Lindström. Lindström is a company providing cleanroom services and workwear for the pharmaceutical industry in Finland, India and China. In addition to the previously mentioned countries, the pharmaceutical industry is also in focus in Türkiye and Slovenia. 

Especially in areas where water shortage is a significant threat, companies have been pushed to find water-conserving solutions. According to Manas Kumar, Strategic Marketing and Business Development Director at Lindström, all of the company’s customers in China and India have set targets to reduce their water consumption. In this regard, efficient laundry services play a significant role. 

“With our customers, we have reached up to 40% savings in water consumption. When you add this to replacing disposables with reusables, it makes a big difference environmentally.” 

Pharma heading towards a circular economy, where pharma supply chain companies support

Traditionally, the pharmaceutical industry has used a lot of single-use, plastic-based garments. These have either ended up in a landfill or been incinerated. The outcome has been depending on the conditions in the environments where they have been used. 

“Shifting to reusable garments means a significant reduction in the amount of waste generated,” says Kumar. With the help of technology and data, the companies can follow the life cycle of each garment. This supports in making sure that all compliance requirements are met. 

The next step is to move towards a circular economy. We want to find ways to reuse the materials of discarded cleanroom workwear. Meanwhile, the focus is on testing how to prolong the lifetime of the workwear and utilise the materials more effectively. 

“Together with pharma, we are constantly figuring out how to make the process even more environmentally friendly. Whether it’s making the life cycle of the garments longer or finding ways to reduce the amount of plastic used in packing the washed clothes,” Jokinen explains. 

Lindström has a dedicated team working on improving the laundry processes from an ecological perspective – while making sure that the stringent hygiene standards are being upheld. 

“Sometimes you think that a part of the process is so refined that it can’t be done more sustainably,” observes Jokinen. “And then you discover that it actually can be done even better.”