Protecting and restoring nature for a healthier future
Home / Sustainability / Nature
Nature is essential for the health of people and the planet: it provides us with clean air, water, food, a stable climate and source products to make medicines. However, nature and biodiversity loss are putting human and planetary health at risk. Urgent investment is needed to protect and restore the ecosystems and natural resources that communities, economies and society at large rely on.
We recognise that our ability to discover, develop, and manufacture life-changing medicines depends on and impacts nature. Consequently, we have a responsibility to accelerate efforts to protect and restore nature across our value chain.
We’re taking action on nature for more sustainable healthcare
We follow the science to deepen our understanding of our relationship with nature, assess our impacts and dependencies, and find ways to reduce our environmental footprint. In 2025, we published our first Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) report, following our 2024 early adoption of the TNFD recommendations.
Halting and reversing nature loss is critical for human health. We’re taking action across our value chain and working with our peers to improve the health of people and our planet.
Collaboration is critical to halting and reversing nature loss, which is why we partnered with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and industry peers to develop a Roadmap to Nature Positive: Foundations for the Pharmaceutical Sector. This roadmap identifies key impacts, dependencies and priority actions we can take to drive positive impact across the sector.
Our key targets
20%
10%
200 million
95%
100%
12
We’re sourcing and using natural resources more sustainably
We recognise that our operations rely on natural resources and we aim to minimise our usage of and impacts on nature wherever possible. In 2024, we achieved a 23% reduction in water usage compared to our 2015 baseline, while growing our business. In China, we use a wastewater treatment plant at our Wuxi site, enabling wastewater reuse and the reduction of the site’s water footprint.
Sustainable sourcing of raw materials is also critical, as is collaborating with suppliers to improve environmental performance and promote the highest ethical and environmental standards. More than 95% of our paper-based packaging materials comes from sustainable sources with assurances from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), which reflects our commitment to sustainable sourcing.
We are also working to address our sector’s dependency on horseshoe crab blood, which is currently a regulatory requirement for Bacterial Endotoxin Testing to ensure our medicines are safe for patient use. Our aim is to transition to more efficient and sustainable testing methods that require less reagent while we work in parallel to shift to synthetic alternatives.
We’re minimising pollution and reducing waste
We aim to minimise environmental pollution right from R&D to manufacturing, and from patient use to disposal of our medicines.
Pharmaceuticals in the environment: The approach we take to pharmaceuticals in the environment (PIE) is central to mitigating the risk of our products adversely impacting water quality and ecosystems. For example, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are biologically active molecules in pharmaceutical compounds which can harm biodiversity and wildlife if they are released into the environment. We therefore run a safe API discharge programme which applies to both our manufacturing sites and our suppliers. Our goal is for 100% of our site discharges and over 90% of supplier discharges to comply with safe discharge concentrations to protect the environment and natural ecosystems.
Ecopharmacovigilance: In addition, our industry-leading EcoPharmacoVigilance (EPV) dashboard enables users to visualise the relative risks of our APIs that are found in the environment. We were the first pharmaceutical company to transparently share environmental risk assessment (ERA) data on our website.
As the industry lead for the PREMIER project (Prioritisation and Risk Evaluation of Medicines in the EnviRonment), we are collaborating with peers to contribute to greener medicine design.
Waste reduction: Taking measures to reduce waste is another way in which we’re reducing our environmental impact. We have reduced waste by 13% since 2015. Our focus is on enabling greater circularity, including for plastics which are used widely in the development and production of medicines. By adopting a plastics hierarchy, we aim to reduce usage, increase recycled content and substitute those plastics that are challenging to recycle with alternative materials. For example, in Sweden we are working with pharmaceutical retailer Apoteket and a recycling company, to collect and recycle plastic covers of used inhaler devices into new material used for cable drums.
We’re investing in nature restoration
Our Biodiversity Action Plans and Climate and Adaptation and Nature Fund: We aim to conserve and enhance native habitats for flora and fauna around our R&D and medicines manufacturing sites through local Biodiversity Action Plans. We also work with stakeholders on water stewardship and biodiversity to protect and restore ecosystems. Through our Climate Adaptation and Nature Fund which is granted annually, we’re investing in nature and water stewardship projects across our value chain.
In the US, we’re working with the National fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to restore crucial beach habitats for horseshoe crabs, red knots and other shorebirds in the Delaware watershed. Our Nature action case study on horseshoe crabs outlines our efforts to halt and reverse the decline of this species.
In Spain, we are funding the design and delivery of a wetland area in Barcelona. The project uses native species to improve water quality in an area heavily affected by treated wastewater. It also aims to advance research in biopurification.
AZ Forest: Through our global reforestation and biodiversity programme AZ Forest, we aim to plant 200 million trees across six continents by 2030. The programme is co-designed with planting experts and local communities and is delivering natural forest restoration and agroforestry. AZ Forest projects aim to support climate action, human health and ecological resilience. They also increase species diversity, promote sustainable livelihoods, and provide nutrition for local communities.
Over 40 million trees have been planted since 2020 through AZ Forest, across Australia, Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Rwanda, the UK, and the US.
The programme will also support the recovery of endemic and endangered species. For example, the honey possum and black-gloved wallaby in Australia and black lion tamarins and jaguars in Brazil. We are also supporting PhD research into biodiversity in Brazil together with local experts.
By embedding sustainability across our business—from lab to patient—and working in partnership with ecological experts, we are contributing to the protection and restoration of nature which is vital for a healthy future.