us towards greener alternatives

Environmental assessment model for pharmaceuticals can steer us towards greener alternatives

How can we reduce the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals from a life cycle perspective? In collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry association Lif, IVL has been working for several years to develop a model for the environmental assessment of pharmaceuticals that it hopes will provide guidance. The next step in this work was taken in 2020, and a report was published showing how different actors can use the model to drive environmental improvements.

Information about how pharmaceuticals affect the environment can be used as a basis for various improvement decisions, for example to reward ‘greener’ alternatives. But how do we know that one particular pharmaceutical is ‘greener’ than another?

“In order to prioritise and drive improvement work, it is necessary to have access to comparable, reliable and relevant information about the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals throughout their life cycle,” says Ann-Christin Pålsson, project manager at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute. The environmental assessment model that has been developed by IVL and Lif contains two parts – an environmental risk part that relates to emissions of the active pharmaceutical substance during its manufacture and use, and a part that relates to climate footprint from a life cycle perspective. The model described in a previous report is intended to deliver product-specific environmental information that will make it possible to compare the environmental impact between different products that contain the same active substance. This information can be used by various actors – regions, pharmacies, authorities and pharmaceutical companies – to drive improvement measures and reduce the environmental impact throughout the entire life cycle of the products.

MAPPING HOW THE INFORMATION CAN BE USED The next step in the work has been to evaluate the needs, demands and use of the product-specific information that the model will deliver. In the report that was published in autumn 2020, IVL, along with Lif and other actors, has mapped out roles and responsibilities as well as evaluated the challenges, driving forces and opportunities that exist in respect of both drawing up and using the information. The evaluation has focused on five primary applications for the model: in assessments in conjunction with product approvals, for product and process improvement work, in the pharmaceuticals benefit system, during the procurement of pharmaceuticals, as well as to guide the selection and use of pharmaceuticals for a particular treatment.

The report underlines the need for market incentives to take this to the next stage. In the short term, these can be generated through the regions’ procurement of pharmaceuticals in combination with the pharmacies’ sustainability guide for over-the-counter medicines, and in the longer term in the pharmaceuticals benefit system.

“All actors emphasise the need for product-specific environmental information in order to make informed decisions and be able to conduct improvement work. However, there are still a lack of market incentives to share information of this type. In order to make progress, a combination of voluntary initiatives and legislation will be required,” says Bengt Mattson, sustainability expert at Lif.

NEXT STEPS IN ORDER TO START USING THE MODEL In the next stage of the work, Lif and IVL want to move towards the actual application of the model, by further developing and pilot-testing the environmental risk element of the model in procurement. In addition, they want to create a strategic roadmap for ongoing development and implementation.

“Collaboration will be required to further develop the model and start using it. The study shows that there is a high level of commitment among all actors, as well as a desire for constructive collaboration in order to move forward. It’s time to move from words to deeds,” says Bengt Mattson.

For more information, please contact: Ann-Christin Pålsson, ann-christin.palsson@ivl.se, tel. 010-788 66 14