Climate change

At Roche, we have long recognised the urgency of climate change and the impact it has on global health outcomes. Extreme weather events undermine access to healthcare, and rising temperatures and pollution increase diseases and mortality – all disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities.

The pharmaceutical industry is one source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Generating 4-5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in both decarbonisation and the continued improvement of patient and population health.

We are committed to addressing climate change as a matter of urgency – working with peers and stakeholders to amplify our actions.

Here, we set out our approach to climate action. Read more in Roche’s Position on Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change and our Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report.

Since the early 2000s Roche has been working towards a low-carbon future and doing our part to mitigate climate change remains a priority for us. Climate action is fully embedded in our business and encompasses the entire value chain from research and development to manufacturing and distribution.

As with all our work, our approach to decarbonisation is based on science. It sets out a defined path for reducing emissions to meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and keep the average global temperature increase below 1.5°C. In setting our strategy, we developed stretching goals aligned to the framework provided by Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Our ambition is to systematically reduce our emissions and reach net zero across both our own operations and wider value chain by 2045.

Aligned with the SBTi framework, our approach focuses on emissions reduction. Once the majority of our reductions are achieved, we plan to offset no more than 10% of our emissions.

Read more about our environmental goals

Reaching our ambitious yet realistic goals will take a collective effort. Everyone at Roche has a role to play – as do our partners up- and downstream.

We are following a clear strategy, set out in ourWe put our own business in order by improving energy efficiency and moving to energy generated from sustainable sources, such as wind and solar. Electricity from sustainable sources accounts for approximately 86% of our total electricity consumption. In addition, we engage with our suppliers and stakeholders in an open and constructive dialogue to identify and deliver on common goals.

Each of our sites is required to develop a roadmap describing how it will cut energy use, while making the switch to renewable energy sources. This includes installing technology innovations including geothermal storage and heat pumps to be CO₂-free. Already, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, is one of the largest corporate generators of solar energy in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving approximately one-quarter of its power needs from on-site photovoltaic panels.

For several years, Roche has been successfully phasing out halogenated hydrocarbons containing chlorine, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), as they are strong greenhouse gases that also damage the ozone layer. Making up less than 1% of our footprint, halogenated hydrocarbons are mainly used in our refrigeration and fire suppression systems.

We are also systematically reducing other atmospheric contaminants. This includes filtering waste air to remove nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) and using incineration, condensation and freezing processes to reduce the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Any energy generated during combustion goes to generate steam for heating.

The bulk of our emissions comes from the products and services we buy and from patient use of our products. With this in mind, collaboration across our value chain is critical to reaching net zero. We continue to embed sustainability into our procurement processes and ongoing supplier conversations. We set clear expectations for our suppliers to measure and reduce their emissions. Read more aboutOur structured programme of supplier engagement focuses on building knowledge and improving measurement of the pharmaceutical industry’s impact, so that we can cut emissions together.

Our business – and the wider pharmaceutical industry – was built and thrives on collaboration, innovation and long-term thinking. As members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Health Systems Task Force and the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI), we are working with peers to bring about wider-scale change.

The PSCI’s Decarbonization Playbook for the Pharmaceutical Industry is an action-oriented resource, helping Roche, our industry peers and suppliers to accelerate emissions reductions. With our SMI partners, we are developing a joint standard (PAS 2090) for assessing the lifetime impacts of pharmaceutical and diagnostic products from sourcing raw materials to patient use and end-of-life.