In light of the global environmental problems and our growing international operations, we have taken the opportunity to revisit our Environmental Strategy. We believe that global environmental problems are a shared responsibility between industry, government and civil society.

Strategy in action - Continuous improvement 

We have successfully completed the first stage of our ISO 14001 implementation; 12 production facilities worldwide and two support functions are now covered by the ISO 14001-certified Environmental Management System. In the process, around 7,000 employees have received training. We have decided to extend the certification to cover our production facility in Koriyama, Japan, and the newly acquired facility in Montes Claros, Brazil. This is expected to be completed in four years.

The systematic efforts to reduce environmental impacts will be supported by our five-year Environmental Strategy, launched in 2003. It addresses the environmental issues and highlights the challenges we believe are key to ensuring the future success of our business, striving at the same time for a balance with the global ecosystem. For more than a decade we have been pursuing a sustainability approach, striving to balance environmental, social and economic erspectives in decision processes.

Since our first Environmental Policy was formed in 1975, we have remained committed to continuous improvement. This approach rests on our obligations to meet international standards.

The revised strategy is the result of an evolutionary approach. It relates environmental trends to our business and outlines eight focus areas, each with a set of individual strategic goals and projects (see below).

Taking a long-term perspective, the most challenging areas for Novo Nordisk to further sustainable development are climate change initiatives, use of natural resources and management of pollution.

Novo Nordisk's Environmental Strategy - focus areas 2003-2008 
(click to view the strategy as pdf file)

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We place particular focus on decreasing the negative environmental impacts of our products and processes right from the R&D stage. For example, in order to improve systematic environmental considerations in these processes, we have developed a new checklist, which is used to evaluate projects at development milestones. This checklist considers the input to and output from production in terms of energy, water and materials, and the emissions to air, land and water from specific processes. The procedure is simple, yet the level of ambition is high; in the long term we have set ourselves the goal of moving in the direction of dematerialising our production. Or in plain language: producing more with less.

We also identify and continuously monitor the environmental impact of our devices and packaging. We are always looking for ways to develop devices that are easier and more convenient and, for some people, prefilled insulin devices are the preferred option. As we are also concerned about the environmental impact of these devices, which are typically disposed of on a weekly basis, we have been undertaking lifecycle assessments of our prefilled devices. The results show that the production of one plastic prefilled pen, FlexPen®, consumes no more than three quarters of the energy it takes to make a plastic bag.

When incinerated, the plastic materials used for prefilled devices and needles degrade into carbon dioxide, water and heat. The carbon dioxide contributes to global warming but if the energy is recovered in the incineration process, it can be used for district heating or electricity and thereby replace the use of other fossil fuels. There are no toxic substances in the devices.

In 2003 we decided to establish an Environmental Device & Packaging Group, the task of which is to ensure integration of environmental considerations in our strategies for devices and packaging. It also responds to requests regarding environmental aspects of devices and packaging, and is responsible for clear and proactive communication on these issues.

Another key part of our strategy is to increase our focus on the economic impact of our environmental performance. This is done by applying Environmental Management Accounting principles. How we do this is illustrated by business cases. Analysing environmental improvements that are both environmentally and economically viable exemplifies our Triple Bottom Line approach. In so doing we are sending a strong signal, both to external stakeholders and internally, that increased awareness of the environmental impact of our operations and investments not only benefits the planet, but also our business.

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The process of meeting our environmental goals is ensured by the Environment & Bioethics Committee, the corporate External Environment department, which reports to the committee, and by the International Environmental Network. The internal stakeholders are represented in a network comprising environmental coordinators and members of the environmental working groups from throughout the organisation. The network meets twice a year and drives the efforts to raise environmental awareness and share better practices. In addition, cross-organisational teams from all areas of the business are working to combine their expertise to identify where we can minimise negative environmental impact, while also balancing the financial and social bottom lines.

We will continue to make active and strategic use of open and honest stakeholder dialogue involving employees, suppliers, NGOs, customers, businesses, authorities, investors, experts, opinion leaders and others with a relevant interest. That is the essence of shared responsibility – and in our view the only route to success in overcoming environmental challenges.