By Business & Finance 
Patrick Falvey, Principal Consultant with Latham Biopharm Group which is part of Sia Partners, evaluates the investments and strategies in Ireland which are expected to lead to a more sustainable future.
The Irish Biopharmaceutical and Pharmaceutical Industry has been one of the great success stories of foreign direct investment (FDI) with nineteen of the world’s top 20 global biopharma companies located in Ireland. In addition, we have almost 100 companies providing employment to over 90,000 people, and with exports of over 93 billion euros.
In Ireland protecting our environment is key to maintaining this success. Sustainable manufacturing aims to improve on current manufacturing processes and create a far more ecologically friendly system without sacrificing productivity. Improvements in sustainability can involve the entire supply chain around the actual manufacturing, both upstream in sourcing new materials and downstream in dealing with the finished products and waste management. Improving sustainability also involves reducing resource consumption, reducing waste, and reducing facility emissions.
At a European level, the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe has a role to play in sustainable manufacturing by applying and/or reviewing the provisions on the creation of environmental risk assessments. Development of environmentally sustainable and climate-neutral pharmaceuticals and manufacturing should become a driver for the EU pharmaceuticals industry and best industry practices should be used to reduce emissions and contribute to EU’s Green House Gasses (GHG) emission targets.
At Sia Partners we forecast that at the EU and national level tighter mandatory ESG requirements will force companies to set and work towards improved environmentally sustainable goals. We believe that all stakeholders including boards of management, employees, residents, as well as state and local governments want to see reductions in carbon and general emissions and preservation and protection of resources such as water as part of a company’s environmental and social policy.
In Ireland Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has overall responsibility for promoting the SDGs and overseeing their coherent implementation across Government. The DECC sets out arrangements for interdepartmental coordination, stakeholder engagement and periodic progress reporting on all the UN 17 sustainable development goals and 169 sub-targets. The Irish Biopharmaceutical and Pharmaceutical Industry will need to look at their mission statements and strategies, assess their procurement practices, and address their emissions shortfalls. They need to review their work practices, operating models, and ability to develop joint partnerships with government and/or other service providers and contractors upstream and downstream to achieve their sustainable manufacturing goals. It’s easy to forget that any problem that affects the environment will inevitably become a problem for this generation and the next if left unchecked. By protecting the planet, we are also protecting ourselves and future generations to come.
Consulting For Good is Sia Partners’ global environmental, social, and corporate governance approach, by which we strive to integrate ESG into the core of our business strategy, operations, and culture. Our approach covers Sia Partners’ practices and policies, as well as the support we offer our clients via innovative offerings centred on sustainability.
Patrick Falvey, Principal Consultant with Latham Biopharm Group which is part of Sia Partners,
