A truly sustainable CDMO integrates sustainability into the way it plans capacity, designs facilities, manages resources, and works with customers and suppliers. It is not a separate program alongside the business. It is reflected in everyday decisions and in the ability to deliver safe injectables reliably over the long term. That is why our sustainability strategy includes all relevant dimensions such as patients, people and planet.
For me, that also means looking at sustainability in its full context. Environmental performance is essential, but so is resilient supply, responsible growth, strong governance, and the people whose expertise keeps complex aseptic processes running. A sustainable partner must make progress in all these areas without compromising patient safety or product quality, while also staying as an employer of choice through taking responsibility for its own employees.
2. Where in the pharmaceutical manufacturing process can a CDMO make the quickest environmental impact?
The fastest gains often come from the systems that support manufacturing rather than from the filling process itself. Energy supply, heating and cooling, ventilation, compressed air, and other building systems operate continuously in a highly controlled environment. Improving their efficiency or transitioning them to renewable sources can therefore have a considerable effect.
Resource management is another immediate lever. Optimizing water use, reducing material losses, and improving the way utilities are monitored can deliver tangible results without changing the fundamental requirements of the manufacturing process. Larger technology shifts take time, but disciplined operational improvements can begin much earlier.
3. How do you balance the energy-intensive demands of cleanrooms and sterile processes with carbon reduction goals?
Patient safety and product quality are non-negotiable. The task is therefore not to reduce the standards applied to cleanrooms and sterile processes, but to meet them with more efficient technologies and better-controlled systems designed in a way that a technological transformation can be possible at any time.
Switching to renewable energy sources is also a key factor that can influence balancing the energy-intensive demands of the drug development processes.
This starts with facility design and continues through the entire operating life of a site. Modern building systems, the use of renewable energy resources onsite, condition-based control, heat recovery, efficient utilities, and precise energy monitoring can reduce consumption while maintaining the validated conditions required for aseptic production. The key is to consider energy performance early, particularly when facilities and infrastructure are being designed or modernized.
4. What sustainability metrics are pharma clients prioritizing from CDMOs when selecting a partner today?
Clients are looking for evidence that goes beyond individual projects. They increasingly inquire about greenhouse gas data, the share of renewable energy sources, overall CO2 reduction strategy, defined reduction targets, and a clear view of how progress is measured. Science-based targets are particularly relevant because they provide a recognized framework and make commitments easier to assess over time.
The conversation is also moving further into the supply chain. Customers want to understand how a CDMO approaches responsible procurement, supplier engagement, occupational health and safety, ethics, and compliance.
Ultimately, they are looking for consistent data, credible governance, and evidence that sustainability targets are influencing actual business decisions.
5. How are you approaching waste reduction and circularity in single-use systems and packaging materials?
We approach waste reduction and circularity pragmatically. In the development and manufacture of injectables, patient safety and product quality come first, and not every material stream can be returned to a closed loop under today’s regulatory and technical conditions. That does not mean accepting the status quo. Instead, it means concentrating on solutions that are both environmentally meaningful and operationally sound.
Our priority is to avoid unnecessary material use and reduce waste at source. At Vetter, one of our most important sustainability factors is material recycling. Therefore, we separate different materials directly from the point where they are generated. When they remain uncontaminated, they can be returned to the circular economy for high-quality recycling. We then look at packaging design, material utilization, segregation of waste streams, and opportunities to work with suppliers on recyclable or lower-impact alternatives.
For single-use systems in particular, progress depends on collaboration across the value chain, because material composition, product-contact requirements, collection, and recycling capabilities all need to be considered together. For instance, reducing or replacing plastic with alternative packaging materials, using climate-friendly logistics models or PVC-free or eco-friendly materials for internal transport trays can already make an impact.
6. What advice would you give to a drug developer trying to reduce the carbon footprint of their outsourced pipeline?
Start early. Decisions about manufacturing technology, primary packaging, scale-up, sourcing, and supply routes can shape the environmental footprint of a product for many years. If sustainability is considered only after the manufacturing model has been established, many of the most effective options may already be limited.
I would also recommend making sustainability part of partner selection and project governance. Ask prospective outsourcing partners for transparent emissions data, defined reduction targets, and evidence of how they work with suppliers. Most importantly, treat footprint reduction as a shared task. Drug developers and their partners achieve more when they exchange data openly, evaluate trade-offs together, and make decisions with the full product lifecycle in mind.
