Read, Learn, Innovate: Pharmaceutical Engineering® Articles on Sustainability
Featured in this edition of the Pharmaceutical Engineering® Online Reading Roundup are some articles to start off the new year right! We revisit a favorite topic, sustainability—and will be updating our coverage of this topic with the upcoming March-April 2023 issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering.
Sustainability & the Life Sciences Industry: A Global Introduction
This article surveys topics that will likely have a significant global impact on the way we conduct our business over the coming decade. We trace some history of sustainability in the life sciences industry and identify future issues of concern, including a number of areas where industry advancement cannot be made without true commitment to a full set of sustainable objectives.
Sustainability: Where Is LEED Leading Us?
In 2000, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduced Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to create a methodology to promote sustainability-focused practices in the building industry. This article reviews the earliest protype that we know of for a LEED manufacturing facility, presents a real-world case study of a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility achieving LEED Gold, and describes sustainability certifications that go beyond LEED.
Two Real-World Experiences in Global Sustainability
The article appraises the real-world experiences of two pharmaceutical companies approaching the rollout of energy- and water-reduction programs to selected facilities around the world. It is the result of more than two years of collaboration between the company corporate teams, individual site teams, and an external specialist consultant.
Reining in Consumption for Sustainable Manufacturing
The word “sustainability” is both overused and abused: We hear about sustainable development in a sustainable economy that uses sustainable packaging for a sustainable future. But it’s an important concept, especially for the pharmaceutical industry as it transitions from manufacturing in stainless steel facilities to single-use technology (SUT) in much smaller plants. This shift has revolutionized pharmaceutical manufacturing and is producing results that go far beyond the financial. Corporate examples that measure results using the triple bottom line∗ can help us define and understand sustainability more clearly.
