Environment

Environment

In our sustainability vision, commitment to environmental balance is directly related to operational excellence. In all our manufacturing and commercial operations, the purpose is to reduce the use of natural resources through innovative processes and technologies.

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WATER EFFICIENCY

Saved, reutilized, and donated water 

Water is a critical input in the pharmaceutical industry, and we have dedicated great attention to reducing and optimizing its consumption, with innovative projects and initiatives to achieve water efficiency. A water reutilization system was initially implemented at the Unit of Itapevi in 2012, and then adopted at large scale in the Unit of Ribeirão Preto in 2016. Along the years, both units went through successive improvement processes with the adoption of new technologies, such as a reverse osmosis filtration process. 

In 2013 we entered into a public–private partnership to donate surplus reutilization water. During this process we have counted on support from the Estre Group and the City Halls of Itapevi and Jandira, which have utilized this resource in many activities for non-drinking water consumption purposes. 
Starting in 2019, we have established the AMA water use scheme in our internal events, to support this networked initiative to promote access to drinking water in regions where this resource is scarce in Brazil. In 2021 a new reverse osmosis operation at the Effluent Treatment Station of Itapevi started to send high quality water to supply cooling towers, marking the implementation of water reutilization actions also in our production process.  

In 2022, our environmental indicators pointed to a 9% reduction in the water consumption criterion (m3 /100 UP), with 77,027 m3 of the used water being reutilized.  

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Investments in renewable sources

The achievement of energy efficiency goals necessarily permeates the path towards reducing consumption and increasingly utilizing a vast array of renewable energy sources. 

In 2019, the company became the first Brazilian pharmaceutical company to receive the ISO 50.001:2018 certificate, an international norm that establishes energy efficiency guidelines for the pharmaceutical industry.   

In 2022, we signed an agreement with the largest renewable power generator to promote a 100% clean matrix in Brazil, starting in 2024. A new wind park in the State of Bahia will fulfill our energy demand and supply our commercial fleet, with more than 4 thousand vehicles, to make sure it is exclusively driven by ethanol.  

 

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Disruptive technology to connect the entire chain 

In the last few years we have made important leaps forward to improve the management of the waste generated by our production processes. We have been monitoring all generated waste through the SAP system, from their respective production area down to final disposal, thus ensuring grater reliability and safety in our operations.  

Hazardous Waste 

As a top priority, hazardous waste treatment has been performed through co-processing, a more sustainable method since it utilizes waste as fuel in cement furnaces to replace fossil fuels. In 2022, 92% of the hazardous waste we generated in Brazil was thus disposed of. The industrial hazardous waste reduction goal set for that year was established considering the injectable products production area, the most relevant one as regards our environmental performance indicators, which satisfactorily overcame the challenge with a 12% reduction if compared to the same period in the previous year. 

Recyclable Waste and Reutilization  

All the recyclable waste disposed in our premises is reutilized through selective collection, and delivered to recycling companies. Our units count on selective waste collectors, which have enabled us to correctly separate different kinds of waste.  
In addition to ongoing educational campaigns with our collaborators to stimulate correct disposal practices, the revenue obtained from the sale of the company’s recyclable waste is destined to socio-environmental projects, such as the “De Mãos Dadas com a Escola” (“Hand in Hand with the School”) project, in which the collected amount is employed to acquire school supply kits and reimburse the books and workbooks provided to our collaborators’ children.  

Sustainable Station implemented at the Industrial Complex of Itapevi

This program has as its purpose to increase environmental awareness through positive actions covering the entire production chain, according to the logic of circular economy. The collected waste is sent to a partner cooperative, thus generating income to its members, and making sure the waste is reutilized in other processes, while promoting the preservation of natural resources.  

Waste management is undertaken by Eurofarma’s Environmental Management area, with third parties being responsible for waste transportation and final treatment, all of which are permanently audited and qualified as regards the required mandatory licenses.  

Zero Landfill 

All Brazilian units have already implemented a composting process, and at the Units of Itapevi and Freguesia do Ó this process has been performed using the Bioconverter, a biodigestor installed inside their premises.   

Correct drug disposal  

Eurofarma has established a pioneering partnership with the Pão de Açúcar Group to promote correct drug disposal among consumers, by placing collectors in the Group’s drugstores located in strategic cities all over Brazil. 

Over 12 years, the Correct Drug Disposal Program has correctly collected and disposed 32 tons of materials such as primary packaging (those that were in direct contact with a chemical compound), expired medicines, and sharp materials such as needles and vials. 

Due to this initiative’s success, we have taken part in conferences and public consultations that have contributed to consolidate the Reverse Logistics model homologated by the Federal Government, which in 2020 regulated the process for the disposal of expired or disused drugs for human consumption. 
 
In 2021 Logmed was established to help manage the waste generated by the pharmaceutical industry and to represent the sector, and through the website www.logmed.org.br you can check where the active collection points are located so your home medicines and their packaging can be correctly disposed. 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Action at many fronts to deal with a complex issue 

Since 2008 we have been developing an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in conformity with the GHG Protocol methodology. Surveys have helped us elaborate internal policies to reduce air emissions.   
In 2020, we adopted SDG 13 Action to Combat Climate Change and Its Impacts as our top priority, and started a pioneering plan among Brazilian pharmaceutical industries to neutralize our direct emissions.   
In 2022, Eurofarma signed a 15-year contract with company Omega, the largest clean energy generator in Brazil, to implement wind power self-production capacity. The wind park established in the State of Bahia will ensure that all of our units in Brazil have access to a clean energy source, while fulfilling 100% of the company’s energy needs.  

Conservation of green areas
  
Currently, Eurofarma is helping preserve areas covering 106,599m² in the municipalities of Itapevi (SP) and Montes Claros (MG).  
17,348 trees have been preserved due to the implementation of improvements in local environmental initiatives.  

Mobility  

Until 2023 we plan to replace 211 conventional vehicles with hybrid ones in our executive fleet, and we offer priority parking space to low emission vehicles, in addition to a ”Carpool” program.  
The Corporate Fuel Consumption Policy establishes that the cars utilized by our Sales Force must be supplied at a ratio of 75% of ethanol and 25% of gasoline. 
In 2022, that consumption goal was achieved with a ratio of 78% of ethanol and 22% of gasoline. As a consequence of that measure, since 2009, when the policy was established, there has been a 63,930-tCO2-emission reduction. As of 2023, the goal is to have ethanol – a renewable fuel – account for 100% of our fuel supply.  

Ecological Trail
 
We believe in comprehensive and sustainable development, always aimed at promoting economic, social, and environmental balance. That is why we have inaugurated the Eurofarma Ecological Trail at our Unit if Itapevi.  

With a total 1.6 thousand meters long, the trail is located in an Atlantic Forest preservation area with many different native fauna and flora species.   
This environment is divided into three moderate difficulty trails: the Fig Trees Trail, the Orchids Trail, and the Bromeliads Trail. These trails are open to visitation to our collaborators and can also be appreciated through a virtual tour. 

Click here to access it and enjoy the tour! 

CIRCULAR ECONOMY 


Organic Management Garden
 
With a project that unites sustainability, environmental education, and health, the company has built a 1,000-m2 space at the Unit of Itapevi, and a 250-m² space in Ribeirão Preto, both called Organic Management Garden, where greenery have been cultivated in a sustainable way and without using agrochemicals.  

More than 66.3 thousand vegetables have been produced without using agrochemicals, which have been offered to our collaborators in exchange for recyclable materials brought from their homes. Such resources have also been offered to local cooperatives.  

The yards have been built with ecological bricks and a drip irrigation system, so vegetables can grow without competing with invasive grass, and such biodiversity has contributed to avoid that insects become plagues and allowed pollinators to do their job.  

Our collaborators can exchange recyclable materials for vegetables.   

Click here and check it out. 

+Green Products 

The +Green seal has been a cutting-edge project in the pharmaceutical industry. As the result of this pioneering initiative in the pharmaceutical sector, Eurofarma’s first products bearing the +Green seal arrived at the market in 2018, to identify those drugs connected to innovative actions able to generate a positive impact on the entire production chain and on the natural environment.  

One of the differentials of the products bearing the +Green seal is their internal blister packaging, made using an unique domestic decontamination methodology in the world developed by Eurofarma, and validated by Anvisa. The seal also attests to the use of 30% of recycled materials in the external packaging (cartridge), in addition to extra precautions observed during the production process, such as input savings and the control of impacts, including information to final consumers on correct disposal.  

Since the start of this project in 2018 and until the month of March in the current year, 79 million units of +Green products have been sold to our consumers. In 2022, more than 23 million units were sold to our clients, with 8 new products being recently included in the +Green line. 

Find out more at www.eurofarma.com.br/mais-verde

COMMITMENT TO ECO-EFFICIENCY

Our teams operate with the support of multifunctional committees to ensure the dissemination of the best practices and the evolution of established goals. Our performance is monitored through sustainability indicators together with a well-defined strategic planning, in synergy with the Operations area. Our main operations count on an Environmental Management System certified by the NBR ISO 14001:2015 Norm. 

We are aware of the need to innovate in order to face the challenges associated to sustainability, with demands that are constantly updated. In our daily routine, the adoption of new habits is a constant requirement in line with the role we play of being a reference in socio-environmental responsibility practices in the pharmaceutical sector. 

Check below some of our important initiatives and, to find out more about them, check our Sustainable Booklet for further details, by clicking here.  

 

RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Investment in renewable sources  

In a bold move, we have invested in a photovoltaic energy generation system at the Unit of Itapevi, with 7.3 thousand solar panels installed so far. Around R$ 9.9 million have already been invested in this technology.  

Zero Paper Program 

The Zero Paper program aims at reducing the number of printouts by establishing comparative performance indicators. Given the importance of this issue, we have implemented the Zero Paper Committee, where improvements are discussed to optimize and eliminate printouts, thus reducing paper consumption.  

Eco Bike  

At our Unit of Itapevi, we have made eight stations with community chargers and electric bicycles for internal displacement available to our collaborators. This initiative has promoted environmental awareness and better health through physical activities, in addition to caring for the environment by reducing other means of transportation that utilize polluting fuels.