Pfizers miljö- och ansvarsblogg

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

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

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

Kategorier: Miljö, Socialt ansvar

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

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

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.

CSR-initiatives by our suppliers

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

I have previously here at the blog discussed supplier screening programs and good CSR-initiatives by suppliers. See for instance my blog post from Jan 22, 2010, about efforts taken by our restaurateur Sodexo. Today, I would once again like to highlight an initiative taken by Sodexo. It is a good example on initiatives from our partners that our employees get in direct contact with - “lunch break CSR initiatives” mean high visualization.

Fish-for-life weeks

Sodexo will for the coming weeks put extra focus on “sustainable fishing”. They will serve only fishes qualified according to Findus’ Fish for Life program (”Omsorgsfullt fiske” in Swedish). I like the initiative, it brings CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and environmental issues into something very real for our employees, and it triggers discussions about other CSR and environmental aspects. Very valuable for our own programs as well!

Yesterday I had a very tasty shallow water cape hake (”kapkummel” in Swedish, and “Merluccius capensis” in Latin) which has been taken from MSC certified fishing outside Africa’s coast in the south-east Atlantic Ocean. I hope to find something as tasty today!

CSR Opportunities and the Fight Against Climate Change

Kategorier: Miljö, Socialt ansvar

One of my favorite CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and environmental newsletters is MiljöRapporten Direkt. They always bring my attention to important news in the CSR and environmental arena and to interesting articles worth reading. I would like to share two of their recommendations to all of you. It is Friday, and if you don’t know what to do during the weekend, why not follow these links and get some interesting reading…

- 2011 Cone/echo Global CR Opportunity Study: 10,000 consumers in 10 countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, China, India and Japan have been surveyed online. The study shows a clear desire to see companies drive social and environmental change. This is consistent across every country surveyed. Regardless of politics, historical context or cultural norms, consumers expect business to address social and environmental issues through their operations, their products and services and their unique expertise. The opportunity of this is quite obvious: Consumers will reward these efforts. The report highlights data and insights that speak to the specific opportunities in each market to help companies tailor their approaches for greatest relevancy and impact.

- Moving Ahead, Fores Study 2011_3: No single country is able to solve the problems of climate change alone – certainly not Sweden, with less than 0.2% of global emissions. Therefore, if the aim of a nation such as Sweden is to reduce global emissions in significant numbers, it is necessary to find ways to influence other countries to reduce their emissions as well. The study investigates and elaborates on the possibilities and risks when moving ahead. And I hope that I do not spoil your reading by saying that the study comes to the conclusion that moving ahead is the right choice!

And just one comment before you jump into reading the two reports. “Moving ahead” is often shown to be the right choice. In addition to benefits for Sweden in moving ahead on the fight against climate change, I would also like to promote a “moving ahead approach” on green economic incentives within the pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceuticals. You may already know my opinion in this field, but if not, follow this link(and the links within that blog post) and read more.