Shire’s approach to the environment is typical of so much else the company does – bringing committed individuals together to make a collective difference |
Again and again in this report you’ll find examples of Shire – and Shire people – stepping forward to do the right thing. It’s no surprise, then, to find that environmental responsibility has always been an important priority for us, or that we’re addressing the growing threat of climate change by stepping up our own efforts to be green.
Our ambition is clear: to achieve world-class environmental performance. We’ll do this by reducing our direct and indirect impacts, using fewer resources and recycling more, and by engaging with our own employees to help them make a difference. All these different initiatives are being brought together in our new SAVE program – Shire’s Actions and Values for the Environment. It’s being championed by the environmental team, but – like so much else at Shire – the real energy and momentum is coming from the 50 staff members who’ve volunteered to run it.
SAVE is taking action on five separate fronts: product development, buildings, recycling, transport and procurement. “All of these areas are equally vital,” says Leonard Fasullo, Senior Director and Global Head of Environmental, Health and Safety, “and by bringing them together under one umbrella we’ll be able to plan, implement and measure what we’re achieving, and benchmark our efforts against other leading companies.”
Shire has never been a major manufacturer in its own right, using sub-contractors to produce most of its drugs. Our direct impacts are, therefore, relatively low, but as we drive up the environmental standards at our own two plants in the US, we’re also working with our contractors to help them do the same. And this isn’t confined to the production process alone.
“We’re looking at every stage of the product life-cycle, and asking ourselves how we can do better,” says Jessica Mann, Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Communications. This covers everything from reducing our packaging, to the use of greener inks and recycled materials in promotional items.
Turning to buildings, Shire sites across the world are now using state-of-the-art management systems to reduce their carbon footprint and use resources more efficiently. This ranges from installing lighting sensors, to buying furniture made from recycled materials. Staff cafeterias are composting their biodegradable waste and every office-based employee will have their own recycling bin – another example of how personal commitment is being harnessed to make a collective difference.
We’re also making space in our car parks for hybrid cars, and more of our people are asking for them. Our focus so far has been on the sales fleet, which covers over 900 representatives in the US and some 100 in Europe. These people are on the road all the time, and better vehicle maintenance can improve both emissions and fuel efficiency. We’re already offsetting these road miles through treeplanting schemes, and plan to extend this to all our business travel, including air miles.
Working with our supply chain is another important area. In 2008 we’ll be running a second series of supplier conferences with a special emphasis on environmental performance, and separate breakout sessions to share best practice.
SAVE has already had its successes, and a company-wide communications effort is being put behind it. A dedicated website will be launched on Earth Day, coinciding with a number or highprofile events at Shire locations across the world. The website captures insights and advice from across the company, including a carbon footprint calculator, and a car-pooling search facility.
As Leonard Fasullo says, “It’s simple but effective ideas like this that will be key to tackling climate change. Global warming is such an enormous issue that our personal efforts to do something about it can seem insignificant. But we can all do something, however small, and all these individual improvements will eventually make a real difference.”
CR Report 2007
