The NHS has the target of being carbon net zero by 2040 and, as the customer of all UK-based pharma companies, the industry must respond to that target to align with our customer in order to be considered a supplier for the future. There is another side to this: we do have breakthroughs in orphan diseases where no treatment has existed, however most new medicines show small incremental changes. A company’s environmental focus may serve as an additional, and important, differentiator that goes beyond the product.
This is the first of a two-part series (we can do more if feedback says there is an appetite for it) exploring the question of carbon. Einstein said, “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” so let’s start there with an explanation that people will find simple. At Hawk Pharma Consulting we love analogies and the one we will use is the clean kitchen floor and the muddy boots on a wet day! To keep the kitchen floor clean you have two options:
- Avoid making a mess by keeping muddy boots off the kitchen floor!
- Walk all over the floor, spreading dirt, but mop it up afterwards!
Mopping up the mess:
Wandering about in the kitchen in those muddy boots will make a mess but you can mop it up and have a clean (or at least cleaner) floor again.
Carbon offsetting: This is where you purchase carbon credits to compensate for greenhouse gas emissions arising from your human or industrial activities. In other words you still make a mess but you mop it up afterwards.
Carbon credits: Each credit represents EITHER …. The removal of 1 tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere (eg by planting the correct amount of trees) …. OR …. The avoidance of 1 tonne of CO2 being emitted (eg by building wind or solar energy farms to replace fossil fuel-based plants). The projects associated with the credits are the mop.
Carbon removal: As the name suggests, the process removes CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it permanently via natural or technological solutions. This is the mop-head that picks up that dirt, aka carbon.
You still make a mess but you either mop it up and remove it (carbon removal) or you offset, or compensate for, the mess by making another area even cleaner (carbon offset).
Avoid making the mess:
We could take our boots off before going into the kitchen or have a highly absorbent mat to get our boots clean (or at least cleaner!) before entering the kitchen with them still on.
Carbon reduction: This is all about lowering your carbon footprint. An example might be by using less energy in total or using solar power for your electricity. There is less, or ideally nothing, to mop up as there would be if you washed those boots off. Clean power (or clean boots!)
Carbon avoidance: In this case you are preventing the CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Your boots may be muddy but you left them outside the door and made no mess.
The clean kitchen:
You can keep a clean floor or get back to a clean floor and this is the goal:
Carbon neutrality: Is all about balance between CO2 emissions and CO2 removals over the period of time.
Net-zero: If you reduce your emissions (scope 1, 2, 3) to zero or a residual level / neutralize those residual emissions (and future emissions) you are at net zero.
It’s important to use the right word in the right place and we hope our explanation, and muddy boot analogy, helps. In part 2 we will look at what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint and how you can present that simply to the benefit of your company and medicine. This is a particular focus in respiratory and gaseous anaesthesia and our case study will show you what can be done: Environmental Focus & Sustainability – Building a compelling & compliant strategy & communication – Hawk Pharma Consulting
We’d appreciate the time to talk to you about all things marketing, commercial and go-to-market, including how environmental focus can increase your differentiation as well as how we may be able to help…
Get in touch, book a Zoom call, grab a coffee and let’s chat!