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Climate change: working for a brighter future

With much of the world discussing climate change, it's clear that humanity needs to clean up its act and reduce the production of pollution. So how does GlaxoSmithKline play its part?

Greenhouse gasses and ozone

That the activity of humans is changing our planet is no longer a debate. Greenhouse gasses (GHGs) such as water vapour and carbon dioxide have been suggested as the main cause of the “greenhouse effect” – the trapping of heat within the earth’s atmosphere causing a global increase in temperatures.

Such GHGs occur naturally but the burning of fossil fuels has greatly increased their presence in the atmosphere. Most experts now agree that this increase in GHGs is causing the earth to warm, a process which could bring about disastrous changes to our climate.

Human activity has also affected the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere.  This layer, which normally filters ultraviolet radiation from the sun before it reaches ground level, has been depleted by the release of certain man-made chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).  Depletion of this layer has been suggested as causing skin cancer in humans due to the harmful ultra-violet light that reaches the earth’s surface.

Reducing energy consumption in GSK

Germany - our local company in Bad Oldesloe has worked with the customers it supplies so they can switch from air to sea freight to substantially decrease CO2 emissions in a way that results in better service and cost savings.

Costa Rica – although much of the country’s power is hydroelectric, the cost of electricity is relatively high. At GSK’s San Jose site, staff have been given awareness talks on reducing energy usage and movement sensors are used to turn lights off when a room is empty.

Australia – the Boronia manufacturing site in Australia was chosen as one of six finalists in the 2005 Greenhouse Challenge Plus Awards. The site has an active energy reduction programme that has reduced electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. 

India – Sonepat manufactures Horlicks, the flagship product of GSK Consumer Healthcare in India. The site reduced its utility operating costs by 57 per cent in 2005 by using a range of energy management devices.

Ozone and global warming: a complex relationship
There is a complex relationship between ozone and global warming. Ozone itself has a global warming potential so any depletion of the ozone layer will have an indirect cooling effect. 

However, all the substances which deplete the ozone layer have a direct global warming potential (GWP) and scientists believe that, on balance, ozone depleting substances contribute more to warming than to indirect cooling.

Taking action on climate change
Governments are taking action to address these issues.  The Montreal Protocol came into force in 1989 and set dates by which ozone depleting substances could no longer be manufactured.  Since this protocol was signed the ozone layer has started to recover but it will take many more years before it returns to normal. 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change aims to stabilise GHGs in the atmosphere at a level that will help to prevent dangerous effects on the earth’s climate system.  To support this Convention, the Kyoto Protocol established the mechanisms that governments can use to limit or reduce their GHG emissions. The treaty was ratified in February 2005 by all member states except the United States and Australia, although significantly, both countries have signed the Framework Convention.

Supporters of the Kyoto Protocol say that it will address the major concern about climate change – the production of carbon dioxide and subsequent global warning. Opponents say that the protocol does not go far enough or that it is too interventionist.

Generally, the pharmaceutical sector’s energy consumption and GWP are less than many other industries, for example mining, electricity and oil.  However, many pharmaceutical companies have established energy reduction targets.

GSK’s record on energy consumption and ozone depletion
Historically, GSK has performed well in reducing energy consumption and therefore reducing its Global Warming Potential (GWP) as well as reducing its use of chemicals which are harmful to the ozone layer.  

In 2005 the company was identified as a climate leader in the pharmaceutical sector and during 2006 was ranked fifth by the Carbon Disclosure Project, an organisation that helps investors to assess the effects of business on GHG emission and climate change.

Between 2001 and 2005, GSK achieved a 13 per cent reduction of GWP from energy per unit sales - an eight per cent absolute reduction.  Further improvements were made in 2006 when GSK used 19 million gigajoules of energy, approximately 1.4 per cent less than in 2005.  This reduction came despite an increase in sales.  Energy consumption per pound sterling of sales was 8.1 per cent lower than in 2005.

GSK has also made efforts to phase out metered dose inhalers (MDIs) that use CFCs, greenhouse gasses that depletes ozone, and to replace them with ones that use HFAs (Hydro Fluoro Alkanes), which do not deplete the ozone layer, although they still do contribute to global warming. Some 98 per cent of GSK’s MDIs are now CFC-free.

GSK also developed powdered MDIs which do not use greenhouse gases, although these are not suitable for all patients.  The company has committed to remove totally the use of CFCs in its MDIs as soon as possible and by 2010 at the latest.

GSK’s commitments on climate change
GSK’s policy on climate change, published in August 2007, declares the company’s intention to reduce its operational GHG emissions and the consumption of energy relative to sales by integrating energy efficiency considerations into all aspects of its business including transportation and investment decisions. 

For its operations, GSK commits to reduce its use of energy and its global warming potential (GWP), by at least 20 per cent by the end of 2010 and 45 per cent by the end of 2015 on a per unit sales basis measured from a 2006 baseline.  GSK will also seek to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels whenever it is technically and economically feasible.

The policy also states GSK’s position on emissions trading, offsets, renewable energy, water impacts and disease distribution.

For more information, see the side bar on this page.

To meet these challenging targets a special operating and capital fund has been created.  This special fund is managed by the Climate Change and Energy Reduction Team.  This team has representatives from all parts of the business and meets regularly to share best practice and to identify improvement opportunities.

A brighter future?
It’s relatively easy to paint a very dark picture of the future based on current predictions about global warming and climate change. What is clear, however, is that we all have a part to play, whether at home, at work or on holiday. Here are some energy-saving suggestions:

Use energy-saving light bulbs and turn off lights when you leave a room

• Use energy-saving light bulbs and turn off lights when you leave a room
• Do not leave electrical appliances on ‘standby’ and unplug chargers (eg for phones and MP3 players) when they are not in use
• Wash clothes at a lower temperature – at 30C as opposed to 40C uses 30 per cent less energy
• Turn the heating thermostat down by 1C - this can save 10 per cent on average
• Fit your home with appropriate insulation to conserve heat in the winter