SGD Pharma Releases Its Latest Sustainability Report

SGD Pharma has published its latest 2023 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report illustrating the sustainable practices deeply embedded in its business ethos. The company-wide commitment towards a safer and healthier environment is guided by its dedication to pharmaceutical glass packaging and reflects its responsibility towards the planet. The newly published 2023 Report celebrates achievements across three CSR pillars: people, impact and values which represent the tenets on which the company measures itself. The Report follows SGD Pharma’s recent 2024 Gold EcoVadis rating in which the company was awarded its highest ever score of 78 (putting it in the 98th percentile for manufacturers of glass and glass products). Even more recently, SGD Pharma has earned the prestigious Climate Action Award by PAI Partners among all of PAI’s portfolio companies.

SGD Pharma has set stretch goals for its CSR performance, and these are covered in the 2023 report, key highlights include:

• 100% of SGD Pharma’s global manufacturing sites in France, China, India and Germany are both ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified
• 70% of total company waste is recycled
• 97% of critical suppliers have signed a CSR code of conduct
• 1000 accident-free days at the Zhanjiang (ZJ) plant.
• Average 25 hours of training per employee

Building upon the achievements, SGD Pharma has set ambitious targets for the 2024 year ahead:

• 100% of sites to achieve environmental and energy management certification by 2025
• Zero severe accidents at every plant by 2025
• Deploy the French gender equality index across all locations
• Plant 10,000 mangrove trees in China during 2024

Sustainability is at the core of SGD Pharma’s business strategy, with the company showing its support of the UN Global Compact for the fifth consecutive year. CEO Olivier Rousseau explains: “We are proud of the company’s ongoing improvements in CSR, but there is a long investment ahead, which is why we are long-committed to the UN Global Compact: The ten principles of the UN Global Compact, which include human rights, the environment and anti-corruption, have guided our CSR strategy and helped us ensure that our company-wide policies meet the highest environmental, social and governance standards. We have also recently renewed our commitment to both ObsAR and the Women’s Empowerment Principals and look forward to forging new similar partnerships in the future as we strengthen the company values.”

Over the last year, SGD Pharma has also made significant progress in its mission to reduce its carbon emissions. Working with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), the company has set the goal of reducing emissions by 35% in 2030 and by 65% in 2040, in line with SBTi’s 1.5°C trajectory. One of the two furnaces at the company’s manufacturing plant in Saint-Quentin Lamotte, France has been rebuilt and now uses more renewable energy, such as electricity. The rebuild aims to halve gas consumption in the forehearths, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Elsewhere, in the Vemula, India plant, a heat recovery unit and solar panels have been installed. Last year, the solar panels alone in India generated around 1.5 GWhs of energy and consequently the plant has already seen a considerable reduction in carbon emissions.

SGD Pharma has implemented a range of policies to guarantee employee welfare, including its annual Safety Week. The company also maintains strong business values, ensuring that all suppliers operate ethically and sustainably. Across all aspects of the business, SGD Pharma safeguards the health of the planet through the minimization of waste and the use of renewable energy.