Pfizers miljö- och ansvarsblogg

Back to work… Some objectives for 2012

Kategorier:

So, after two weeks of holiday (although I have to admit it wasn’t really a vacation - I saw my mother pass away after months of fighting…) I am now back in the office. You may recall my last blog post from 2011, where I summarized 2011 and gave a few ideas on what 2012 will be about, at least regarding CSR and environmental affairs in the pharmaceutical sector. Let me here present some of the objectives for 2012 that I, Pfizer and LIF (the association of the research based pharmaceutical industry in Sweden) have in the field:

My most important objective for the year, in my part-time role at LIF, is to deliver according to the project plan for action item 7.2 in the Swedish National Pharmaceutical Strategy (NLS):

7.2. Encourage voluntary control of emissions from pharmaceutical factories (Lead: LIF): Introduction of a voluntary environmental labeling of pharmaceutical products.

In order for LIF to be succesful in this work it is crucial that Sofia Wallström comes to a positive conclusion regarding green economic incentives in her review including action item 7.1. in the National Pharmaceutical Strategy:

7.1. Investigate if the environmental aspects should be considered when decisions on subsidy for a pharmaceutical are decided (Lead: Ministry of Health and Social Affairs): Review of possibilities to – within the context of the national reimbursement system - increasingly take environmental considerations.

Read more about the environmental action items in the National Pharmaceutical Strategy via this link. Below is my hand-written version of the project plan for item 7.2 that I update continuously as the project develops…

Project plan NLS 7.2

I know it is difficult to see the details of the project plan, but I can tell you that an additional crucial issue (in addition to positive conclusions in Sofia W’s work on NLS 7.1) is the development and finalization of green criteria for pharmaceuticals: Which pharmaceuticals are green? Below is a summary of criteria discussed in LIF’s round-table discussions during 2011:

My second most important objective for 2012 will be to develop a CSR platform for LIF, and to maintain and further develop the CSR-programs in Pfizer. When it comes to a CSR platform for LIF you will find some of parts on which I believe the platform should be based in my blog post from Oct 19, when I wrote about my part-time assignment at LIF. Regarding the CSR programs at Pfizer I recommend that you read about them on our Swedish web site and on our global web site. There are a lot of interesting projects, programs and initiatives running. It is a huge task only to maintain them, even more so to further develop them.

If you have followed me here at the blog you would probably know that one of the more interesting developments of our CSR program I strongly believe in is the “more-than-medication initiatives”. Please spend some time reviewing our Canadian colleagues’ initiative at morethanmedication.ca or our Australian colleagues’ program at morethanmedication.com.au. These kinds of initiatives are extremely important in what I refer to as Step 1, in our model called “4 steps to a sustainable use of pharmaceuticals“:

Sustainable use of pharmaceuticals

Let’s hope for a productive and successful 2012!

So, the year 2011 has soon come to an end…

Kategorier:

These days, in the end of the year, it is almost impossible to open a magazine or a newspaper without finding a list of the most important things that happened in 2011. My own list would look something like this (if I take it from a strictly professional perspective). It is worth mentioning that I have not put the “happenings” in any ranking order, these are just some things that come to my mind sitting here in front of the computer.

- The National Pharmaceutical Strategy was published and it did highlight some important issues around Pharmaceuticals and the Environment (e.g. the so called action items number 7.1 to 7.4). One very important action item in the Strategy is number 7.1: Sofia Wallström’s review on environmental considerations within the frame of the pricing and reimbursement system.

- In parallell with the work to develop the Strategy, LIF run a series of round-table discussions (and break-out work group sessions) to develop ideas around green criteria and green economic incentives. These discussions will both be important for action item number 7.1 in the Strategy (see above) and for 7.2: “Encourage voluntary control of emissions from pharmaceutical factories” (see for instance this link for more information)

- As a consequence of the discussions around the National Pharmaceutical Strategy and Sustainability, a work-group within LIF, consisting of among others members from the Environmental Committee, developed a strategy called “4 steps to a sustainable use of pharmaceuticals“.

- I started working part-time at LIF (the Swedish Association of the Research Based Pharmaceutical Industry). It is fun, interesting and challeging - exactly as I want it! I will be the project leader for action item 7.2 in the National Pharmaceutical Strategy, and also develop a CSR strategy or program for LIF.

- LIF has, in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders in the sector, planned for a campaign to be run during spring 2012 on the importance to bring back, to any pharmacy of your choice, any un-used medicines. This is regradless of where you have purchased them. More to come on this item during 2012.

- The All Party Committee on Environmental Objectives was initiated. One of the first priorities is the objective “A Non-toxic Environment”. See the blog post from the initial meeting of the work-group on Pharmaceuticals and the Environment, which is a prioritized issue in the review of the “Non-toxic Environment-objective”.

- One of the most discussed items within the field of pharmaceuticals and the environment was MPA’s report on how GMP can be amended with environmental requirements. An item that will be high on the agenda for several years to come, that’s for sure.

- When it comes to Public Procurement the most important thing that happened during 2011 was that County Councils finally started to follow-up their criteria, and company answers, on environmental and social responsibility issues. See this link for some more details.

- MistraPharma got funding for an additional 4 year period. If you would like to meet one of MistraPharma’s project managers “face-to-face” please have a look on the TEDx lecture given by Joakim Larsson on pharmaceutical substance releases from manufacturing.

- The end of the Dizza Tobak project. After three extremely fun and interesting years our collaboration with among others SAMBA and A Non Smoking Generation the project has come to an end. It will be interesting to see how we manage to build on the experiences we have gained and on the lessons we have learned when it comes to working with youth advocacy leaders and social media.

- The EU communication on CSR was published (see the communication, and also some of my comments on CSR and corporations, e.g. “an enterprise 2020 company“, and how a CSR program in a company can be communicated to colleagues). I will for sure come back to this issue several times during 2012 in my work on developing a CSR strategy/program for LIF.

- The political summit in Almedalen was as always stimulating as well as very interesting. See some of my reflections to seminars and meetings via this link.

- We saw a good participation in Earth Hour 2011, but few political achievements during the large UN Climate Conference in Durban. Cannot really say that I believe any real breakthrough to happen here during 2012…

- I received the award “Women’s Heart of the Year” (in Swedish: Årets Kvinnohjärta) from the Sollentuna Kvinnojour. I have to admit that I am very proud!

- My blogpost number 400 was written… It has become quite a few blog posts during these years… I am actually kind of proud of this as well! It presents a good opportunity for interactive communication, although I have to say that I would still welcome much more comments!

If you would like to read a summary of year 2010 and the ideas and expectations I had for 2011 roughly a year ago follow this link. As you see, some things hang around several years…

Stockholm County Council’s new environmental program

Kategorier:

I read in yesterday’s Pharma Online newsletter that Stockholm County Council (SLL, Stockholms Läns Landsting), with their new Environmental Program 2012-2016, has sent a “challenge” to the Swedish government, other county councils and municipalities around Sweden.

Gustav Andersson, with a political responsability for environmental matters in Stockholm County Council, says in a press release that (nota bene: it is my own translation here):

“We will work faster, at a high speed, in several environmental areas with our tough objectives. Moreover, we challenge others!”

Pharmaceuticals is among the areas for environmental objectives. SLL says that they will continue their work to reduce the environmental impact from the usage of pharmaceuticals. A tool for this work is of course SLL’s own pamphlet of environmentally classified active pharmaceutical ingriedients, which is based on data from LIF’s classification scheme avalable through Fass.se. That makes good sense of course. But what frightens me is when they say that (once again my translation and words, not their)

“we will phase out all environmentally hazardous pharmaceuticals and chemicals”.

There are several life saving pharmaceuticals, which according to the classification scheme may very well be rated “environmentally hazardous”. To phase them out, e.g. products for chemotherapy, should not in my opinion be an objective for a county council. A wise use of the products, with safety precautions of course implemented, is to me a clear responsibility for a county council. Patients that need the therapy should of course have access to the treatment. I do not think actually that anyone in the County Council would argue here. It rather shows the problems of setting, and communicating, environmental objectives. Even if the use of “hazardous substances” has increased (which may be warranted due to an increase in patients with certain forms of cancer for instance) the County Council may have done a magnificent work within the environmental program.

The “right use” of pharmaceuticals - from the unique patient’s perspective and from a more holistic perspective on public health and environment - is not always a very simple discussion to take…

COP-17 meeting in Durban has ended…

Kategorier:

So, after long discussions, the COP-17 meeting in Durban finally came to an end. I wrote in my blog post from Nov 21 about my pretty low expectations for any clear and progressive results from the negotiations. My view, as evident from my blog post, is that:

“Regardless of the outcome of COP-17 (and my expectations are extremely small), I am convinced that enterprises around the world will continue working with their energy and climate change agenda. It has become a very natural part of the environmental sustainability programs. And in several cases the programs are not only successful from an environental point of view but also from a financial point of view. Decreased energy consumption, changes of energy sources, and other activities very often make good business sense! I would be very surprised if that is not also true for society as such…”

So, what did the politicians deliver from their work in Durban? Well, not too far from my expectations… They did agree to continue working to develop an agreement that could be decided upon by 2015, with clear objectives of decreased CO2-emissions from 2020. They also agreed on some details about the “green fund” which will help countries that cannot afford climate change mitigation actions themselves. It is also decided that the Kyoto protocol stays alive until a new agreement is in place.

If you want to read more about the Durban outcome please follow this links:

- COP-17 official web site (presents the outcome in more positive words than mine above…)

- Comments from EU (also fairly positive…)

- Comments from the Swedish government (they are also pretty positive…)

- Comments from WWF (not so positive…)

- Comments from Swedish environmental NGO Naturskyddsföreningen (not postive…)

Nature and Environment Prize 2012

Kategorier:

I just realized that very soon (on Monday, Dec 12) is the last day to send in nominations to the Nature and Environment Prize 2012. It is a prize awarded by the Nordic Council, and it is intended for an individual, a company or an organization that have made great contribution to bio-diversity. Since bio-diversity is of great important to us all, and not least to the pharmaceutical industry and patients around the globe (several pharmaceutical substances come from nature), I of course like to draw your attention to this. If you know anyone who should be worth this - send in the nomination!