Embedding sustainability across our global R&D centres

From lab to patient, our focus on sustainable science is helping us to deliver better health outcomes with a lower environmental footprint. We are committed to fostering a culture of sustainability and shifting mindsets to ensure that we design, develop, and deliver new medicines in the most environmentally sustainable manner. By driving sustainability across our strategic R&D centres, we accelerate our journey towards achieving net zero.

Cambridge, UK – a feat of environmental engineering

Our state-of-the-art global R&D facility, The Discovery Centre (DISC), at the heart of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (UK), embodies our commitment to sustainable science. Designed to the highest environmental standards to increase energy efficiency and work with the natural environment to reduce energy consumption through heating, cooling and lighting, the DISC has achieved an ‘excellent’ BREEAM certification both for its design and construction. The open design of this R&D centre encourages collaborative working, reflecting our ambition to drive partnership and positive societal impact through transparency.

Today, our scientists are accelerating the development of life changing medicines in a building that supports our path towards net zero. From its first day of operations, the DISC has contributed to achieving our 2026 Ambition Zero Carbon target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 98% from a 2015 baseline.

Learn more about our state-of-the-art Discovery Centre in the below video

The DISC’s environmental sustainability highlights include:

Lower energy consumption than the design predicted: This has been enabled by smart building technologies and the dedication of the onsite teams to efficient resource utilisation from day one. The teams continue to explore ways to further reduce energy, water and our GHG emissions using smart building technology.

Innovative renewable heat and power solutions - largest UK renewable heat certified ground source heating and cooling system: Our ground source heat pump, equipped with five ‘hybrid cooling towers’ and 174 boreholes to store and provide natural geothermal energy supports the heating and cooling of the building throughout the year. Every day, we are learning more about how the ground responds to this exchange of energy to increase the amount we can use. At points where the building needs more energy than the ground can provide, we turn on our boilers or chillers which use 100% biomethane and renewable electricity.

Beyond GHG emissions, we aim to further reduce our environmental footprint by reducing single use plastics and we are working with My Green Lab to drive the sustainability across our individual labs.

Gothenburg, Sweden – delivering absolute emissions reductions and driving circularity

Our Gothenburg R&D site further exemplifies our commitment to sustainable science. Gothenburg has been home to our global R&D site in West Sweden for more than 50 years, supporting the entire life-cycle of our medicines, from drug discovery to clinical trials, global commercialisation and product maintenance.

By reducing energy consumption and transitioning to renewable energy, this strategic R&D centre has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 99% from a 2015 baseline, including through:  

Green design, new ways of working and efficiency improvements to eliminate and reduce emissions:

• Switched to fully flexible, activity-based labs where the scientists share instruments, spaces, and ideas, reducing the need for space and increasing efficiency in laboratory equipment use.
• Chillers use low global warming potential refrigerants.
• All chemistry labs are My Green Lab certified to green, the highest level. My Green Lab is recognised by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign as a key measure of progress towards a net-zero future.

Investments in renewable heat and power:

• 100% of the site’s electricity consumption is from renewable sources and only fossil-free heating sources are used. Through our agreement with Statkraft, Europe’s largest renewable energy producer, we are also increasing the supply of wind power in Sweden. 
• Backup power generators run on hydrotreated vegetable oil – HVO100 – instead of diesel.
• Through collaboration on a Horizon 2020 Fast Track Innovation project, we developed a next-generation very high temperature heat-pump suitable for combined heating and cooling, waste-heat recovery and steam generation, replacing the need for natural gas.

Recycling and circular initiatives:

• Our Gothenburg site recycles and reuses 90-95% of its liquid helium. Helium is a scarce, business-critical resource, used for super-conducting magnets in research, typically sourced from underground supply as a by-product of natural gas production.
• Washroom paper towels are no longer collected in plastic bags to be incinerated. In partnership with Essity (provider of Tork paper towels) and the local municipality, paper towels are instead returned to the manufacturer to be pulped and recycled into new towels. This initiative has reduced the need for 130,000 plastic bin bags at the site each year, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of hand towels by more than 40%.
• Food waste is composted and recycling stations across the site improve our waste sorting and recycling practices.

Sustainable travel:

• Our SmartMover-programme encourages sustainable travel to and from work.

Gaithersburg and Boston, US – sustainable innovation to house our cutting-edge science

Gaithersburg, our flagship R&D campus in the US, has operations that span Oncology research and development to biologics clinical production. Gaithersburg has prided itself on environmental sustainability for many years including:

Groundbreaking renewable natural gas (RNG) purchase agreement:

• From June 2023, we began purchasing RNG produced by Vanguard Renewables. By 2026, this collaboration will enable up to 190 GWh per year of RNG to be used across our US sites, meeting 100% of Gaithersburg’s gas demand.
• To produce RNG, Vanguard Renewables works with dairy farmers and food and beverage manufacturers to use farm-based anaerobic digestion plants fueled by food and agricultural waste.
• Using RNG and renewable electricity will enable Gaithersburg to achieve a 98% reduction of scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 2026.

Managing waste in a circular mindset:

• The majority of medical waste generated from laboratory and manufacturing operations is recycled through our partnership with Triumvirate Environmental.
• Waste at the Gaithersburg Café is directed to compost or recycling streams. The cafe has eliminated beverage offerings in plastic containers and trains employees on proper sorting.

Awareness of local biodiversity impact:

• Gaithersburg is certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council for its efforts to remove invasive species.