Pfizers miljö- och ansvarsblogg

More comments on Sofia Wallström’s review…

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As you most likely know, Sofia Wallström has been appointed to review whether environmental considerations can be, and should be, taken within the framework of the pricing and reimbursement system. Due to the discussions that have been undertaken so far among the stakeholders in the sector, I do find the way Riksdag & Departement (a very official Swedish newspaper presenting news from “parliament” and “ministries”) presents Sofia’s work task surprising: “Läkemedel ska kunna väljas bort av miljöskäl” (in English roughly “Medicinal products should be possible to deselect due to environmental reasons”). The article continues: “Government wants to know if pharmaceutical products can be deselected when coming from companies that do not take environmental matters into account”.

The reason why I am surprised is that the article talks about “negative selection” (i.e. deselection) and nothing about potential green incentives to products that have been shown to meet environmental criteria. You can read more on the discussions on green economic incentives that have been ongoing for several months among the sector’s stakeholders via this link for instance. In addition to that, it surprises me also that Riksdag & Departement talks about “deselection of products from companies that do not take…”. The discussions among the stakeholders, and also the way I have understood the commission to Sofia Wallström, have a product focus and not a company focus. The discussions concern defining green product criteria that should be met by a product from cradle-to-grave perspective, i.e. from active ingredient manufacturing operations, via formulation and packaging operations, to distribution, use and final disposal. It will be very interesting to see if Sofia Wallström also will evaluate if a company as such is green, and what impact such an evaluation should have.

As I said, surprising for me to see this way of presenting Sofia’s work task…

CSR-discussions with NMC

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I have been a member of NMC (Näringslivets Miljöchefer, or in English “the Swedish Association of Environmental Managers”) for several years. Participation in NMC’s meetings is a good opportunity to learn more within the field of sustainability, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and environmental matters. It also presents a brilliant way to build your network.

Today I participated in an NMC full-day training course on CSR. Roughly 20 environmental managers from several different companies and organizations gathered together at the ÅF (Ångpanneföreningen) office at Frösundaleden 2. Mattis Bergquist from OnlyR guided them through the day.

Mattis Bergquist, OnlyR

Mattis had invited me to discuss for an hour with him and the course participants on CSR in general, on green pharmaceuticals and green economic incentives specifically, and on this blog as a novel, interesting interactive communication tool.

I am talking about CSR-issues

I used my blog post from yesterday to described different parts of a CSR-platform for the pharmaceutical industry. We had a good discussion on possible reasons why the pharmaceutical industry has not been very successful in telling their CSR story to its stakeholders. One reason of course being the fact that we are not allowed to talk about our products (i.e. the prescription medicines) with the general public. Nevertheless the industry seems to have stronger product brand names than corporate brand names. Personally you may know if you follow this blog, that I feel that the industry have been a poor communicator. We have been very slow in adopting modern communication tools, e.g. social media, and to me it is very surprising that there are still recommendations to stay away from social media… Does not feel like 2011, does it? For more on the issue please read my blog post from Nov 24 last year.

We also had a good discussion on potential negative environmental consequences of the Swedish generic reform, where the pharmacy is forced to substitute the prescribed pharmaceutical with the “product of the month” (in Swedish “periodens vara”), i.e. the cheapest generic. And this regardless of any environmental profiles. This of course took us to the discussion on green pharmaceuticals and green economic incentives, that you know I am very engaged in. To read more on the topic, read my blog post from Oct 3, 2011, and follow the links within that blog post for details.

Thanks NMC, Mattis, and all very engaged course participants for very good and intense discussions. I enjoyed it very much!

I will work half-time at the LIF Office during 2012

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It has now been announced that I will work half-time at the LIF Office (the Association for the Research Based Pharmaceutical Industry in Sweden) from Dec 1, 2011, until Nov 30, 2012. See the announcement from LIF below:

“New to LIF’s Office by December 1: Bengt Mattson

Working half time, in charge of CSR, parts of the national pharmaceutical strategy and committee responsible for the LIF Environmental Committee

The LIF Office further strengthens its resources and tries a new form of operating by borrowing colleagues from the member companies. First up is Bengt Mattson, who is head of CSR and Environmental Affairs at Pfizer, and chairman of LIF’s Committee on Environmental issues. Bengt will work half-time at LIF during the period December 1, 2011 to November 30, 2012 and part-time at Pfizer. Bengt will be the project manager for LIF’s work on part of the National Pharmaceutical Strategy (to “Encourage voluntary control of discharges from pharmaceutical factories”) and he will also have overall responsibility for CSR issues at the LIF Office. Bengt will also be the LIF Office responsible person for LIF’s Environmental Committee and hence leave the function as Chairman during this period.”

I think this will be very interesting. I will as you see in the announcement work on e.g. environmental issues related to the National Pharmaceutical Strategy and also on CSR matters in general. Regarding the environmental issues and the national pharmaceutical strategy, you already know parts of the work which needs to be done if you have followed my blog over the recent months. There are four activities identified within the scope of intervention area number 7 “Reduce effects on the environment by pharmaceuticals, locally and globally”:

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.

7.2. Encourage voluntary control of emissions from pharmaceutical factories (Lead: LIF): Introduction of a voluntary environmental labeling 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: Läkemedelsverket): 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 the All Party Committee on Environmental Objectives 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.

As you probably understand I will be the project manager for the work related to point 7.2. This project will of course require very close connections to the work described in point 7.1, which to most people is known as “the Sofia Wallström review“. To be successful with point 7.2, it will be crucial that Sofia W comes to the conclusion that environmental considerations should be taken within the framework of the pricing and reimbursement system. Read more about green economic incentives and the pricing and reimbursement system in my blog post from Sept 28.

As you could read in the LIF announcement I will also have an overall responsibility for CSR issues at the LIF Office. The aim will be to develop a CSR platform for the industry association. And actually, a lot of its ingredients are already in place. Important parts of the CSR platform are initiatives such as:

- The ethical rules, with agreements for all collaborations with health care professionals and patient advocacy groups, and a very strong self regulation system with the LIF Compliance Officer, NBL and IGM

- The LIF Policies, e.g. on the use of animals in research and development

- Patient Safety initiatives

- Fass.se, with factual information on pharmaceutical products to health care professionals as well as the public (including the world unique collection of environmental data for pharmaceutical substances)

- The environmental programs

- The Swedish Drug Insurance Scheme

- The initiatives related to the fight against counterfeited pharmaceuticals, including 2D-coding

- Financing of the healthcare system and pharmaceuticals, including “our welfare in the future” and “the healthcare of tomorrow“

- Prevention and health promotion initiatives, such as the ones I have discussed here at the blog previously

- Equal healthcare and access to medicines and adequate healthcare

- The pharmaceutical industry and the developing world, with several good examples as the ones I described here at the blog in October last year (e.g. Oct 24, Oct 21, Oct 20, and Oct 19).

To me this looks very promising. We are doing the right things, but sometimes it seems like we are not able to communicate successfully… I would like our stakeholders to know about the initiatives, and to interactively debate the initiatives with us. I personally of course also believe that we deserve a better reputation than what have been found in several surveys over the years. See for instance the results from the Swedish survey Sustainable Brands, where the pharmaceutical industry was ranked very poorly 2011 (see my comments to the report via this link). But perhaps things have slowly starting to change, at least in certain countries. I was very happy when I read the “Sustainability Leadership Report” from Brandlogic and CRD Analytics. In this survey, virtually all pharmaceutical companies measured are rated Leaders, both when it comes to actual ESG performance (Environmental, Social, Governance) and to perception. The countries covered in the survey were China, Germany, India, Japan, UK, and US. This does look promising! Could a more clear and visible CSR platform help the pharmaceutical industry in Sweden to receive a better recognition and reputation? I hope so, and I hope I can contribute to such a journey through my work at LIF during 2012!

A Pharma Flagship Project in the Baltic Sea Region

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The kick-off of the project “Make the Baltic Sea Region a Lead in Sustainable Development for Pharmaceuticals” was held at Åkeshof’s Castle in Stockholm, Sweden, today. The project is a so called flagship project within the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and Priority area 3 “Reduce the use and impact of hazardous substances”. We were roughly 30 participants, representing the EU Commission, several agencies from the Baltic Sea Countries, and a number of different organizations such as LIF (the Research Based Pharmaceutical Industry in Sweden from which I and Gisela Holm were participating) and Efpia (the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations).

Christina Åkerman says welcome

Christina Åkerman, Director General of Swedish MPA, welcomed us all to the meeting. The flagship project will run for 3 years and today’s meeting was intended as a kick-off, a chance to start building the network, and to set an agenda for the coming years.

Charlotte Unger

Charlotte Unger (Environmental Manager at MPA) gave us some additional background to the project and then kicked-off the meeting by dividing us into three groups. The three groups worked for a few hours, brainstorming about what topics that should be addressed in the project, and potential deliverables. It was very interesting to follow the discussions in the groups. The discussions were intense and energetic, and perspectives from very different angles were given. Interesting to see how a very diverse group of people (pharmaceutical specialists, environmental specialists, water specialists, policy makers, physicians, etc.) manages to present synergies to one another’s perspectives.

After lunch the full group came together again and presentations were given from the break-out session. It was clear from all groups that an inventory is needed (”the state of the discussion on pharmaceuticals and the environment in the different Baltic Sea countries”, “scale of pharmaceutical manufacturing in the different countries”, “pharmaceutical usage patterns in the countries”, etc.). All groups also suggested that management of un-used medicines in the different countries should be described, and best practices identified. There was also discussions on the scale of the issues as such of pharmaceuticals in the environment (e.g. “yes, we know the drugs are found in the environment, but do they pose a risk?”). It was very clear that the discussion on the topic are still very different in the different countries. Several other issues were also raised, e.g. green economic incentives, monitoring outside manufacturing facilities and POTWs (publicly owned waste water treatment works), and of course Swedish MPA’s suggestion on amending GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) with environmental requirements.

I am really looking forward to future meetings with this group. It will surely be interesting to follow the project. You just have to love the ambitious title of the project: Make the Baltic Sea Region a Lead in Sustainable Development for Pharmaceuticals.  This will be an interesting journey!

Discussions with Vinnova

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Together with a number of colleagues from the pharmaceutical industry, I yesterday met Vinnova, the Swedish governmental innovation agency - “Research and Innovation for Sustainable Growth”. A very inspiring meeting where we among other things looked into the areas identified by Vinnova where innovations are needed to cope with challenges facing society:

- Attractive and sustainable cities

- Health and healthcare in the future

- Competitive manufacturing

- Information society 3.0

All of these areas have CSR-aspects connected to them. When “attractive and sustainable cities” are concerned it is quite clear that both environmental and social sustainability issues are crucial. When it comes to “health and healthcare in the future” you know that I feel strongly about issues such as healthy ageing and the development of services and patient support programs (see for instance my blog posts from April 8, and Feb 8). Competitive manufacturing has a very obvious connection to green chemistry. The better we become on LEAN-aspects of manufacturing and on green chemistry, the better our competitiveness. Read about green chemistry and green manufacturing via these blog posts for instance: Sept 30 this year, and Nov 18, 2010. And finally “the information society 3.0″, well you know my strong beliefs in social media and similar aspects of a modern society. Read about social media use in these blog posts: Oct 6, and Aug 24.

Looking forward to continuing discussions with Vinnova on these issues. I think the pharmaceuticals industry could contribute greatly to innovations in these areas. And I find it satisfying that several of those innovations will be CSR-related.