Pfizers miljö- och ansvarsblogg

Public procurement follow-up portal for sustainability

Kategorier: Miljö, Socialt ansvar

SWEDISH SUMMARY: Mitt favoritnyhetsbrev, MiljöRapporten Direkt, presenterar idag kort den Uppföljningsportal gällande miljö- och sociala krav i den offentliga upphandlingen som Miljöstyrningsrådet och landsting och regioner för närvarande utvecklar. MiljöRapporten Direkt: “Bakgrunden till att portalen skapas är det långsiktiga samarbetet kring hållbar upphandling där landsting och regioner gemensamt tagit fram en uppförandekod. Med den nya portalen kommer det administrativa arbetet med att följa upp kraven i leverantörskedjan förenklas då alla uppföljningar kommer att administreras via portalen.” Läs några av mina tidigare blogginlägg i frågan: 30 november 2012 och 4 september 2012

My favorite sustainability newsletter, MiljöRapporten Direkt, gives a short introduction today to the follow-up portal (uppfoljningsportalen.se) under development by Miljöstyrningsrådet (SEMCo) and County Councils in Sweden. The portal will allow for more efficient follow-ups of the social and environmental requirements in public procurement, as they are stated in the Conty Councils’ Code-of-Conduct. For more details regarding the follow-up portal (”data-base”) please read the following blog posts: Nov 30 2012 and Sept 4 2012.

Discussions are still ongoing regarding some details in the design/content of the portal. How detailed should the follow-up questions be? How do you secure appropriate level of confidentiality of data? The reference group supporting MSR and the County Councils in the development process will meet again on May 30, and the launch of the portal will take place on June 13. More to come!

A short but hectic business week…

Kategorier: Andras arbete, Miljö, Pfizers egna arbete, Socialt ansvar

SWEDISH SUMMARY: Det här är en kort, men hektisk och spännande, arbetsvecka för mig. I går var jag först med ett antal Pfizer-kollegor på Karlstad Universitet och diskuterade spännande perspektiv på framtidens hälso- och sjukvård med Centrum för Tjänsteforskning (CTF). Sedan på kvällen föreläste jag och Kathrine Löfberg (från Löfbergs) om CSR-arbete inom näringslivet på Folkuniversitetet i samband med en CSR-utbildning i Folkuniversitetets och CSR Swedens regi. Idag har jag jobbat tillsammans med LIF:s kansli i en workshop, också den med fokus på framtidens hälso- och sjukvård och läkemedelsindustrins framtida roll och affär. Imorgon är det en heldag anordnad av CBL-kansliet, Läkemedelsverket, om indikatorer inom ramen för Nationella läkemedelsstrategin (NLS). Jag har fått uppdraget att å LIF:s vägnar leda arbetet med att ta fram indikatorer gällande miljöuppdragen i NLS. Men sen bär det upp till Hovra och spelmansstämman där uppe…

This is a short, but very hectic and interesting, business week for me. Yesterday, I visited Karlstad University together with a group of Pfizer colleagues. We met with representatives for Service Research Center (in Swedish: Centrum för Tjänsteforskning, CTF), discussing the future of healthcare. As you may understand, a large part of the discussion regarded services as an integrated part of our offer to society. The kind of ideas I have discussed here at the blog several times before (e.g. Oct 11, 2012). In the evening of yesterday I gave a lecture together with Kathrine Löfberg (from Löfbergs) regarding CSR programs within industry, as a part of a CSR-course at Folkuniversitetet (in collboration with CSR Sweden).

Today I have had the pleasure to wotk with all LIF Office colleagues in a workshop, once again discussing the future of healthcare. A lot of the discussion here were also focusing the role of the pharmaceutical industry in that future. Very interesting discussions!

And tomorrow I will be working together with representatives from the healthcare sector on indicators for the completion of all the different tasks within the Swedish National Pharmaceutical Strategy (NPS). I will have the pleasure, on behalf of LIF, to lead the work to develop indicators for the environmental tasks within NPS. As you probably know there are four environmental tasks in the strategy:

7.1. Investigate if the environmental aspects should be considered when decisions on subsidy for a pharmaceutical are decided (Lead: Ministry of Health): Review of possibilities to – within the context of the national reimbursement system - increasingly take environmental considerations.
7.2. Encourage voluntary control of emissions from pharmaceutical factories (Lead: LIF): Introduction of a voluntary environmental assessment of pharmaceutical products.
7.3. Investigate what further measures can be taken at national level to reduce wastage of medicines or in other ways limit the environmental impact of use of pharmaceuticals (Lead: Swedish MPA): Investigation of the causes of wastage and propose measures to reduce wastage of medicines. Implementation of joint information efforts to encourage patients to return leftover medicines.
7.4. Promote the possibilities for environment considerations during production and use of medicines (Lead: Cabinet Office): The Government on June 9, 2011 took the decision (M 2010:04) to give Miljömålsberedningen the additional task of developing a strategy for Sweden’s work in the EU as well as internationally for a non-toxic environment. The strategy should also encompass the impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment.

And then on Thursday, Friday and the weekend will be devoted to my violin and folklore music. I will mong other things participate in a “fiddler’s gathering” up in Hovra in Hälsingland. Really looking foward to that!

Not to forget, I’ll keep you updated on the work on the NPS indicators as it move forward.

“More-than-medication” - an example of conscious capitalism

Kategorier: Andras arbete, Pfizers egna arbete, Socialt ansvar

SWEDISH SUMMARY: På DN-debatt i tisdags skrev professor Allan Malm om företagens nya roll i samhället. Näringslivet är enligt Allan Malm den enda institutionen i samhället som både har resurser, kompetens och innovationskraft som är i paritet med de utmaningar samhället står inför. Den stora möjligheten, skriver Allan M, ligger i att engagera hela företagets innovationskraft i samhällsfrågorna, det vill säga att stimulera företagen att söka nya affärsmöjligheter på områden där man kan bidra till att lösa problem i samhället samtidigt som man tjänar pengar. Jag anser att Pfizers initiativ “Inte-bara-läkemedel” (på engelska: “more-than-medication“) är ett bra exempel på dylik utveckling!

DN-debatt published a very interesting article by Professor Allan Malm on April 30. The article describes a new role for industry in society. Instead of focusing different stakeholders’ interest, Allan Malm argues that “shared value” between society and enterprises should be the guiding star. Allan Malm’s opinion is that only industry has the resources, competence and innovation power to solve the great challenges in society today. Industry’s great potential is to engage the entire organization’s innovative power in identifying business opportunities in areas where there are great needs in society. You could “do the right thing” on the same time as you are making money. That’s a very modern way of looking upon CSR!

You know from several earlier blog posts that I am a strong advocate for inclusion of preventive initiatives and wellness creation programs in the pharmaceutical industry’s offer to society (see for instance my blog posts from Oct 11 2012, March 22 2012, and Oct 4 2011 or Pfizer Canada’s initiative more-than-medication). Offering our competence, connected with services and products, that helps preventing illnesses in society and which builds public health must be a very good example of “conscious capitalism” as it is called by Allan Malm.

Future Health Lab - a think tank for wellbeing and happiness

Kategorier: Miljö, Socialt ansvar

SWEDISH SUMMARY: Idag träffade jag ett antal klipska, entusiastiska och förändringsbenägna medmänniskor. Folk som liksom jag drivs av en vilja att förebygga ohälsa och hitta sätt att bygga hälsa i samhället. Efter diskussionerna idag snurrar många frågor i min skalle: Hur skapar man “världens lyckligaste folk”? Och vad karaktäriserar egentligen en lycklig, välmående människa i ett välmående och hållbart samhälle? Välkommen till Future Health Lab!

During the afternoon today, I participated in an interesting discussion with a bunch of clever, enthusiastic and change-oriented friends from a broad range of operations in society. Friends who, in similarity to myself, strongly believe in the value of illness prevention and the creation of wellness. You know my opinion on this topic from earlier blog posts (e.g. Oct 11 2012, March 22 2012, and Oct 4 2011). And after the discussions today there are several thoughts and issues running through my head, e.g.:

- How would you build a society with “the world’s happiest people”?

- What characterizes actually a healthy and happy human being, living in a healthy sustainable society?

Welcome to Future Health Lab! Stay tuned - more to come….

Brief update on NPS 7.2

Kategorier: Miljö, Socialt ansvar

SWEDISH SUMMARY: Jag projektleder i min roll på LIF (den forskande läkemedelsindustrin i Sverige) som ni säkert vet uppdrag 7.2 i den Nationella läkemedelsstrategin. Den huvudsakliga leveransen för detta projekt är en miljöbedömningsmodell för läkemedelsprodukter. Som en konsekvens av att Sofia Wallström presenterade sitt delbetänkande i Läkemedels- och Apoteksutredningen den 5 april (motsvarande uppdrag 7.1 i Nationella läkemedelsstrategin) så har vi haft möte i såväl den internationella arbetsgruppen (i fredags) och i den svenska intressentgruppen (igår) för att se hur bedömningsmodellen måste anpassas för att svara upp mot Sofias utredningsförslag.

In my role at LIF (the research-based pharmaceutical industry in Sweden) I act as you know as project manager for task 7.2 in the National Pharmaceutical Strategy (NPS). The main deliverable from the project is an environmental assessment model for pharmaceutical products. The work has been ongoing for quite some time and I have given updates regularly here at the blog (e.g. Jan 29 2013, Nov 22 2012, Dec 6 2011, and Aug 28 2011). As a consequence of the April 5 report from the Pharmaceutical and Pharmacy Inquiry, we have now had meetings both with the international group working with the model development (April 19) as well as the Swedish staleholder group (yesterday). The discussions focused the potential need for adjustments of the proposed model in order to meet the ideas presented by Sofia Wallström in the April 5 report.

Some important conclusions from Sofia’s report:

- The model should be used to environmentally differentiate between products with the same API, since green economic incentives (or environmental premiums) are proposed to be introduced within the generic substitution system (”the product of the month selection”)

- The model should use a “life cycle perspective”, and environmental impacts from manufacturing of pharmaceuticals must be part of the scheme

- The model should possibly rather be an “environmental assessment model” than a “broader sustainability assessment model”, since social responsibility and CSR-aspects are not included at all in the proposed actions from the Sofia Wallström report.

With this in mind we are now continuing working on the details of the model. One thought discussed yesterday is that the “NPS 7.2 assessment model” would be focusing environmental impacts from manufacturing primarily (e.g. API-releases, other releases/emissions to air, water and soil, and energy and climate aspects). In order to present the broader sustainability profile of the medicine, the results from the “7.2 assessment model” would be connected to the environmental classification of the specific API (available at Fass.se) and the CSR and social sustainability data which will be accessible through the web-tool/database under development of the Swedish County Councils.

Interesting discussion to follow. It is not at all an easy project - but the process with all good discussions is extremely important to build new knowledge. I will keep you posted!