Novartis target: environmentally neutral operations by the end of the decade

Mayor of the Municipality of Lendava Janez Magyar, President of the Board of Management of Lek and Novartis Country President Slovenia Robert Ljoljo and Dr. Simon Rečnik, Head of Solids Lendava, planted a friendship tree together at the Lendava site today, which was given to the employees by the Mayor to mark the beginning of the Green Team. He emphasized that efforts to use natural resources responsibly connect employees and improve communities. "We are proud that Novartis is one of the environmentally responsible international pharmaceutical companies and we are committed to achieving ambitious environmental goals in the future as well," said Robert Ljoljo. He thanked the employees at the Lendava site for reducing water consumption per unit produced through numerous measures in the past year and achieving a higher volume of production through lower energy consumption per employee.

As can be seen from the recently published Sustainability Report 2020, Novartis Slovenia has directly invested 3.7 million EUR in environmental protection and 22.1 million euros in the last five years, and all sites have strived for the efficient use of natural resources. "I am pleased that despite more demanding and intensive production with various measures and projects, we have managed to improve efficiency indicators and reduce energy and water consumption," said Eva Podgoršek, Head of the Health, Safety and Environment unit in Slovenia.

In total, Novartis sites in Slovenia used a good percent less energy compared to the previous year, even though the increasing production of original and biopharmaceutical products is energy-intensive. Energy efficiency projects have saved 45,102 GJ of energy, thus preventing 3,617 tons of CO_2e emissions into the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the amount absorbed by 180,850 trees per year **. Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 2%.

Measures and improvements also significantly reduced total water consumption by 14%; 482 thousand m³ of water saved the equivalent to the amount of water needed to fill 193 Olympic pools. Mainly due to the increased quantities of waste mycelium, which is a non-hazardous and biodegradable waste with a water content of 95%, the total quantities of waste handed over to authorized contractors increased by 6%.

Energy efficiency per employee improved by 9% and water efficiency per ton of product by 8%; total waste per ton of product increased by 13%. However, if waste mycelium was excluded, the measured efficiency would improve by close to 3%.

The sustainability culture, especially diversity and inclusion, is also one of the many reasons why Novartis won the international title of 'Top Employer' in Slovenia at the beginning of the year. In the first quarter of this year, it exceeded 5,000 employees, while it ended 2020 with 4,890 employees and 649 new employees.

The unthinkable circumstances that marked the past year, in addition to caring for patients and the health of employees, community support was also at the forefront. At the beginning of the pandemic, Novartis employees took the initiative and organized the production of disinfectant. More than 27,000 liters of disinfectant was donated to 106 health centers, hospitals, retirement homes and local communities throughout Slovenia. The Slovenian Red Cross and the Association of Friends of the Youth of Slovenia received $500,000 to help manage the pandemic in Slovenia, and the youngest members of socially vulnerable families received 182 computers with all the necessary software needed to distance learn.

Lek, which is part of Novartis, also by publishing the Sustainability Report follows the requirements of the international environmental standards EMAS, POR and ISO 14001, which is voluntarily enforced at all Novartis sites, and thus undertook additional independent assessments.

The report is available at: https://lek.si/en/corporate-responsibility/reporting/.

* Carbon neutrality is represented by zero net carbon emissions into the air, which is achieved by reducing and/or preventing emissions and eliminating emissions that cannot be avoided. Water neutrality is represented by zero net water consumption and means that the quantities of water taken from the local environment are equal to the quantities we return to it. Plastic neutrality is represented by the equalization of the quantities of used and recycled plastic packaging.

** Trees absorb CO², so reducing electricity consumption is equivalent to planting new trees that would be needed to absorb CO² assuming one tree absorbs 20kg of CO² per year.