Energy & carbon Management
To reduce our static and fleet energy consumption.
Creating sustainable value in the UK
Our commitment to the environment is really important to us. We are acutely aware of our dependence on increasingly scarce natural resources. And, as part of our commitment towards sustainable development we are dedicated to decreasing our overall energy consumption and carbon emissions, ultimately mitigating our impact on the environment and climate change. We are investing in energy efficiency measures and importantly, enlisting support from our people to help us minimise our impact.
Since 2012, we have reduced our carbon dioxide emissions per employee by 35 per cent and our energy consumption per employee by 34 per cent.1 Waste from our sites is either recycled or used for energy production with zero waste to landfill for general office waste. Our fleet policy is to use low level CO2 emissions and best-in-class fuel efficiency vehicles, including the use of hybrid cars. Both of our sites have installed LED lighting throughout. And we have already met and exceeded EU targets of an average of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre.2
Looking ahead, our three key priorities are to:
Water Management
To use water more efficiently and ensure its quality and safety in all our operations
Waste management
To minimise and actively manage waste through reduction, reuse and recycling
Our People
Enlisting the support of our people is essential to reach and maintain our environmental commitments. In 2017 we installed electric car charging points at both our sites for colleagues to charge their vehicles whilst at work. We also supplied a reusable water bottle to all colleagues to reduce use of plastic cups.
Our Products
Minimising our impact on the environment goes beyond the day-to-day operation of our business – we also build it into the design of our products as well as the management of our products at the end of their lives. It is important to us that our medicines and diagnostics products are developed, produced, used and managed at end of life in a responsible way.
For example, batteries are removed from returned hand-held meters and sent for recycling. And when our larger instruments reach the end of their operational lives we ensure that any electrical and electronic parts are removed in accordance with the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive which aims to reduce that amount of electrical and electronic equipment that ends up in landfill. In addition, once all the electronic components are removed, the remaining equipment is autoclaved and the resulting plastic and metal are also reused.
Our Facilities
When our Diagnostics and Diabetes Care businesses relocated to Burgess Hill in West Sussex in 2006, it was one of the largest recycling projects in Sussex at the time, simultaneously converting and combining existing buildings within a brownfield site on the outskirts of the town.
The transformation was amazing, and our commitment to reduce, re-use and recycle has continued ever since.
Facilities Manager
Whilst drought-resistant shrubs were planted from the outset, as were sensors that switch off office lights during periods of inactivity, recent initiatives include moving to eco-friendly air conditioning resulting in optimum energy efficiency as well as switching to LED lighting throughout the whole building.
And despite the business growing and with it the number of employees and hours worked, the Burgess Hill site has still seen its energy consumption fall year on year.
References
- Roche Impact Report, data on file, September 2018
- Targets available at: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/cars_en