The Pharmaceutical industry is making great strides in a pre-competitive collaboration to improve sustainability in its supply chain. Since inception of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI) in 2006, membership has nearly doubled to 14 companies, a recognition that “Big Pharma” sees a business case in working together to develop a common set of environmental, social, and ethical supplier standards. 

At the same time, suppliers are increasingly pro-active in reaching out to PSCI to demonstrate their support for these standards, formally termed Pharmaceutical Industry Principles for Responsible Supply Chain Management (“the Principles”). In 2011, PSCI launched a standard industry self-assessment questionnaire, a move that has been well received by suppliers who see benefits to filling out the PSCI questionnaire once rather than responding separately to multiple queries on similar topics.

Moving forward, in 2012, PSCI will strengthen its risk assessment tools with a shared audit program and a more formalized supplier capability building program.

Recognizing the group’s momentum, Pharmaceutical-Technology.com, a prominent trade publication, published a feature on PSCI’s leadership in developing sustainable supply chains. Visit Pharmaceutical-Technology.com to read their review of the group’s progress and its plans for the future.

relevant publication to subject

Indicators for measuring environmental sustainability: A case study of the pharmaceutical industry

V Veleva, M Hart, T Greiner… - … An International Journal, 2003 - emeraldinsight.com

Article Indicators for measuring environmental sustainability: A cas...

To answer that question first we need to identify some unique attributes of the pharmaceutical business:

- work with poisonous chemicals,

- research and development is the most significant cost compared to other industries,

- politicized and struggle with ethical issues,

- high margin, high profit business,

- global,

- has to handle its own waste from any stage via reverse supply chain and proper recycling or disposal,

- already caused significant long term environmental issues (e.g. infertile fish and other organisms),

- experiments on animals and human subjects.

What do we expect from a sustainable pharmaceutical supply chain?

- no more contamination (scheduled decontamination of earlier damages),

- affordability,

- fairness,

- transparent experimental methods with volunteers, minimize non-volunteer subjects.

How? I do not know, but voluntary basis certification systems usually helps.

There has to be a proper synergy & collaboration between the various players in the Supply Chain.