Will Roche Make it an Even Dozen When it Comes to Sustainability?

As one of the largest pharmaceutical brands in the world, Roche knows what it takes to achieve sustainability. This is evidenced by the fact the Swiss multinational healthcare company has been ranked as the most sustainable healthcare company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index eleven times – most recently in 2020.

“We are proud of being recognised once again for our sustainability efforts,” said Roche CEO, Severin Schwan at the time. “At Roche, we know that the key to creating sustainable value and growth lies in partnering with multiple stakeholders. In these unprecedented times, we are more than ever committed to working in close collaboration with all global health actors to ensure that medicines and diagnostics reach the people who need them.”

Now, everyone is wondering whether the pharma giant will achieve its twelfth year when the ranking is announced for 2021.

Roche has a well-documented and laid out a plan to combat environmental issues all through its supply chain, from targets to increase the use of sustainable fuels and electricity and reducing business flight emissions, to a mission to completely phase out damaging halogenated hydrocarbons from its refrigerated storage solutions.

Halogenated hydrocarbons can be devastating to the environment and their traditional disposal at sea through runoff or sewage should be a massive cause for concern. Alternative refrigerants such as carbon dioxide are being explored as potential replacements and it's encouraging to see a brand such as Roche shining a light on this threat to our environment.