Energize Announces Program Milestones, With Formation of Additional Buyers Cohorts Bringing New Renewable Electricity to the Grid for Pharma
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The Energize program – a collaborative effort by the pharmaceutical industry and Schneider Electric to increase access to renewable electricity– has reached growth milestones in excess of 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity demand in Europe and North America
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The program has recruited over 500 suppliers to date and increased in size to include 20 sponsoring companies including new sponsors Boehringer Ingelheim, Charles River Laboratories, Roche, Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany, and Haleon
December 4, 2023, Louisville, KY – Schneider Electric today at COP28 announced that the Energize program has expanded to 20 sponsor companies and counting,* has formed a total of five power purchase agreement (PPA) buyer’s cohorts and has made considerable progress since launching in 2021 at COP26. Energize aims to increase access to renewable electricity and drive supply chain decarbonization in the pharmaceutical industry, in turn helping to inspire and accelerate action from the wider sector.
The 20 sponsor companies, including new sponsors Boehringer Ingelheim, Charles River Laboratories, Roche, Merck KGaA and Haleon, collectively represent ~$732.8 billion in global annual revenue. Participating organizations are committed to making an impact across the industry through the Energize program by providing critical education and resources for suppliers to navigate the renewable electricity market. Energize was also recently recognized for its industry impact as the recipient of the 2023 CPHI Sustainability Pharma Award, as the program removes barriers to entry for those companies participating in contracting for renewable electricity.
Energize facilitates collaboration and partnership between the sponsor companies and their suppliers through its five buyer’s cohorts (one in North America, one in the UK, and three in the EU)—with four sponsors and 16 suppliers participating in the cohorts to date. Together, these companies represent an aggregate electricity demand in excess of 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) to be addressed with clean power solutions.
By transitioning to renewable electricity, both Energize sponsors, and its participating suppliers are addressing both current and future decarbonization challenges and the direct and indirect health crisis driven globally by climate change. Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Business recently interviewed Sangita Rana, the Global Leader of Environmental Sustainability at Labcorp to learn more about the company’s decarbonization strategy, and how the Energize program is helping it meet its decarbonization goals.
“Programs like Energize will not only help us toward our goals, but also enable Labcorp to collaborate with our clients and industry leaders like Schneider Electric, creating opportunities to gain access to green electricity and, as a result, promote greening of the grid,” said Rana.
Several founding sponsors commented on the Energize program:
“Climate change and nature loss are creating new health threats, changing the spread and burden of disease and reinforcing health inequalities. This puts increasing pressure on healthcare systems, which already account for nearly 5% of global emissions. Supply chain emissions are a shared challenge across our sector and we are collaborating to find shared solutions,” said Lisa Martin, Chief Procurement Officer at GSK, a founding sponsor company of the Energize program. “By working with our peers to expand access to renewable energy across the sector’s supply chain, we can have a greater impact on decarbonizing health care systems and building climate resilience.”
“Through warming temperatures, extreme weather events, the spread of vector borne diseases, and declining air quality, climate change is having a significant impact on human health and the healthcare ecosystem globally,” said Bridget Ferrari, Director of Supplier Sustainability at Takeda. “In addition to decarbonizing our own operations, Takeda and the pharmaceutical industry recognize the critical need to support our suppliers’ climate change efforts through important industry collaboratives such as Energize.”
“Climate change is visible all around us and is accelerating fast. The adverse impacts on health mean we have to act now to create lasting change, said Rob Williams, Director of Sustainability at AstraZeneca. “Global warming is challenging the way we deliver healthcare to patients across the world, so it’s vital we work together, embedding sustainability throughout the supply chain to create a positive impact for patients, society and the world.”
Schneider Electric is the world’s largest corporate renewable energy advisor and manages the Energize program. This includes supporting multiple suppliers across nine global markets contract for renewable electricity solutions, which can include energy attribute certificates (EACs) in challenging markets like Japan, China, and Singapore. EAC purchasing is an effective decarbonization solution for companies unable to participate in a PPA buyers’ cohort or for those who wish to make faster progress.
“Supplier companies within the pharma industry participating in the Energize program are hearing the call to action and progressing along their sustainability journey,” said Dave Rimkus, Associate Director, Supply Chain Renewables at Schneider Electric.
Learn More About Energize
To learn more about how the Energize program supports supply chain decarbonization, read the interviews with three suppliers in the program in this series, The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Addresses the Renewable Energy Transition:
- Thermo Fisher Sheds Light on their Renewable Energy Transition
- Renewable Electricity Transition at Avantor
- Sustainability at Labcorp
To learn more about Energize and how companies can get involved with our network, visit https://hub.zeigo.com/energize.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On.
Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency.
We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries.
We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values.
*Note to editors: As of December 4, 2023, sponsor companies include:
- Amgen
- AstraZeneca
- Biogen
- Bristol Myers Squibb
- Chiesi Group
- GSK
- Johnson & Johnson
- MSD
- Novartis
- Novo Nordisk
- Pfizer
- Sanofi
- Takeda
- Teva Pharmaceuticals
- UCB
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Charles River Laboratories
- Roche
- Merck KgaA
- Haleon