The cost of going green - Is it cheaper than we think? A case study from SkyCell

A clear theme and priority area that has been made clear from the keynotes, panel discussions and networking breaks at LogiPharma 2023 is that the life sciences supply chain needs to become more sustainable. Now, this is easier said than done, with there being many, many barriers blocking success.

One of these challenges is the cost that investing in ‘greener’ operations would mean for the products that are sold. To tackle this question, Richard Ettl, CEO of SkyCell treated the Ampitheatre at the Centre de Congrès de Lyon to an expert keynote case study on the cost of going green.

Richard opens his keynote by focusing on the hard truth that Pharma has a CO2 problem, which has a total annual emissions output that is just under half of the United Kingdom as a whole, and $35 billion of annual waste. Richard tells us that there is hope and that technology is the key to reducing emissions in a sufficient volume. To illustrate that attitudes must change for the industry to advance in this area, Richard uses a great quote from Henry Ford –

“The evolution of transport would have been a faster horse – not a car. A new mindset was required to create a better solution.”

Skycell can help in this endeavour, with their 1500X shipping container (introduced at LogiPharma 2022), which uses 50% less CO2 than most solutions, has a weight saving of 47% compared to the most used solution on the market, and has a 2.7 X more performance.

Now, the important question that everyone is asking, so much so that it is the title of Richard’s keynote – ‘What is the cost of going green?’ 40%? 20%? The reality is that based on key research, the truth is somewhere in the 1-4% region.

The technology is there, it is just our mindsets that need to change, as Richard says. As mentioned previously, technology is the key. Research has suggested that aside from driving sustainability, ‘better’ technology can lower costs, improve performance, and significantly reduce waste.

A key piece of data from the keynote was whilst current estimates have the per-dose cost of going net zero at $0.16 for shipping, SkyCell can achieve this at just $0.08 per shipping of a patient dose.

Finally, to provide the audience with some key takeaways to bring into their own operations, Richard gave some great insight into what supply chain leaders can do to achieve their sustainability goals, which are as follows:

1. Educate your team on sustainability.

2. Leverage new technology.

3. Build the 5-year plan to go net zero

4. Assign a cost per CO2e ton.

5. Involve and reward partners/suppliers.

6. Make visual examples.

A massive thank you to Richard for a deeply informative and positive look at how the life sciences supply chain can, and should go green.

If you would like to learn more about how the life sciences supply chain can become sustainable, and uncover the latest industry insights, get your free copy of the 2023 LogiPharma Playbook.