It is widely acknowledged that global climate targets can only be met with significant decarbonization of industry and that urgent action is needed to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C to avoid the most severe effects of climate change. Each industry sector has a unique combination of challenges; the healthcare sector and its suppliers, including the pharmaceutical industry, is no exception.
Fig 1. Illustration of a generic product life cycle.
To address this issue in the biopharmaceutical (biopharma) industry, the recently published BioPhorum Environmental Sustainability Roadmap is the collective work of 22 partners representing the broader industry. The roadmap supports collaboration across the industry and serves as a guide towards the sustainable transformation of bioprocessing. It highlights the critical role of decarbonization as well as circularity throughout the life cycle of products and processes (1) across four life cycle domains, including raw materials, which we will focus on here (Fig 1). According to the roadmap, the healthcare sector is responsible for 4%–5% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, with as much as 71% of this coming from the supply chains to the sector. These are mostly from purchased goods and services, which are classified as scope 3, category 1 emissions.
As a tier 1 supplier to the biopharma industry, Cytiva has committed to science-based goals to achieve significant reductions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. These goals, and the data that inform and monitor them, are a critical part of the process and drive the actions that translate strategy into measurable change. Some strategies take time to make real. Others can be deployed much more quickly.
We must pursue alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastics
Fig 2. Change figure legend to match pie chart.
At Cytiva, we calculate that approximately 30% of our total greenhouse gas emissions come from raw materials, a sub-category of purchased goods and services. Of these materials, plastics are by far our fastest growing contributor driven by industry growth and the maturation of manufacturing methods based on single-use technology. When we look more closely at our own use, polyolefins dominate the material mix. This class of thermoplastics includes polyethylene (PE), polyesters (PET/PBT), polypropylene (PP), and nylon. We estimate that we use more than 6 million kg of these materials per year and, with the production of each kg of polymer typically generating at least 3 kg of carbon dioxide emissions (2), this equates to a potential reduction of 18 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. A change to more sustainable materials could directly reduce the scope 3 category 1 emissions of our customers. This is equivalent to the emissions generated by 128 million km in an automobile (3) and is undoubtedly a meaningful opportunity for reduction.
The growing availability of plastics that incorporate sustainable feedstocks provides an accessible opportunity for significant CO2 reductions in a short timeframe. These biopolymers typically blend bio-based feedstocks with those from fossil sources to achieve a significant reduction in carbon footprint ― often near or even below zero. This reduction varies depending on the proportion of bio-based feedstock. It also changes with the nature of the bio-based feedstock, and most suppliers now offer polymer resins created from feedstocks that do not compete with food sources. These include bio-based waste such as waste vegetable oil and nonfood-based crops.
Mass balance and certification
In polymer production the quality of the final resin is independent of the type of feedstock used. Thus, resin suppliers will vary the feedstock source based on availability and other factors, while maintaining strict control over the final product quality. However, the chain of custody of all the feedstocks must be maintained to ensure accurate reporting and to support subsequent claims attributed to any resin sold and in turn to any product manufactured from that resin. As segregation of bio-sourced and fossil-based outputs is not practical or economic at an industrial scale, material control is typically achieved by applying the mass balance chain of custody model (Fig 3). This model defines the proportion of sustainable feedstocks and maintains this sustainable proportion within the total set of outputs from the process. When combined with independent accreditation from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system (4), this allows the raw materials to be traced and the corresponding reductions in GHG emissions to be recognized within the Scope 3 emissions across the whole supply chain.
Fig 3. Mass balance chain of custody model.
Critically, the production process and mass balance approach permit changes in the feedstocks without change to the final product. So, for end users of products containing the plastics produced, this means a material change process is not required to access the sustainability benefits of biopolymers.
The demand for biopolymers is projected to increase by between 14% and > 20% (CAGR) between 2022 and 2027 (5). Capacity is also projected to increase; however, global supply pressures and the intrinsic risks of natural processes may add pressures to the supply landscape that are difficult to predict. The flexibility enabled by the mass balance approach with blended feedstocks further secures the supply chain by permitting adaptation to accomodate changes in demand and availabilty of specific sustainable feedstocks.
Is using biopolymers worth it?
The response to this question based on environmental drivers alone seems obvious, but we would be remiss in ignoring the monetary impact of a change. There is no avoiding the reality that sustainable raw material options do cost more. For plastics, the premium varies depending on the material and supplier but is typically between 10% and 100% compared to those from fossil-based sources. In isolation this is not an insignificant increase. However, in most pharmaceutical applications, the cost of raw materials is typically only a very small proportion of the overall cost of goods sold. Therefore, increases in raw material costs are unlikely to have more than a small impact on the final product cost.
Most suppliers of PE and PP raw materials are advertising sustainable options with claimed savings of 2 to 3 kg CO2 per kg of plastic. Both PE and PP are important raw materials used in many Cytiva products and throughout a typical single-use bioprocessing workflow, including connectors and filtration products. Taking just one PP resin as an illustration, if we begin using an identical resin derived from fully bio-based feedstocks, as attributed by the mass balance chain of custody model, our initial calculations indicate that our Scope 3 emissions would be reduced by over 3000 tonnes per year and aid to reduce GHG emissions throughout the supply chain.
Biopolymers are impactful and available now
As noted in the introduction, BioPhorum’s Environmental Sustainability Roadmap calls for the urgent decarbonization of our industry. Most pharma companies are fully aligned with this as evidenced by commitments to science-based targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. It follows that tangible, achievable opportunities for reducing Scope 3 emissions in our value chains should be prioritized and pursued. We will likely find few opportunities that rank higher than biopolymers, in terms of the degree of impact and our ability to implement the change. Here at Cytiva, we are working together with customers and suppliers to make this easy, impactful change a reality.
The road to sustainabilty stretches out ahead of us all. Each step takes us closer to our shared goal.
Discover more about sustainability at Cytiva
References
1. BioPhorum Operations Group. BioPhorum environmental sustainability roadmap 2022. December 16, 2022. https://www.biophorum.com/download/biophorum-environmental-sustainability-roadmap/ Accessed June 20, 2024.
2. Borealis Group. The Bornewables™ ― a sustainable alternative to virgin polyolefins. August, 2022. https://www.borealisgroup.com/storage/Polyolefins/Circular-Economy-Solutions/The-Bornewables/BOREALIS_Bornewables_Brochure_final.pdf
3. OpenCO2net Oy. CO2 converter. https://www.openco2.net/en/co2-converter
Accessed July 3, 2024.
4. ISCC System GmbH. ISCC certified materials are tracked along the supply chain. https://www.iscc-system.org/certification/chain-of-custody/mass-balance/ Accessed July 3, 2024.
5. Adams B. Informa Markets. Plastics Today. Bio-based polymers projected to grow at double digits through 2027. February 13, 2023. https://www.plasticstoday.com/biopolymers/bio-based-polymers-projected-to-grow-at-double-digits-through-2027. Accessed July 3, 2024.