Sustainability

With climate change causing an alarming number of negative health impacts – from respiratory disease due to air pollution, to the spread of malaria resulting from deforestation – Roche sees tackling climate change as integral to its purpose as a global business. We are taking concrete action to fight climate change and protect our planet now and in the future. We will continue to review our targets and strategy, and invest in innovation to reach zero emissions as quickly as possible.

Roche has been measuring and monitoring its total environmental impact for over 15 years. Through rigorous analysis based on the science, we create strategies to improve efficiencies across our business and supply chain.

We have not delayed action in the past, and we will not delay action now.

Within the next decade Roche is committed to halve the environmental impact of our operations and products. 

A key part is further reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Roche is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050 globally in line with Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) framework.  This plan represents the three legal divisions of Roche within the UK; Roche Diagnostics, RocheDiabetes Care, Roche Products.

Roche has been measuring and monitoring its total environmental impact for over 15 years. Through rigorous analysis based on the science, we create strategies to improve efficiencies across our business and supply chain, and ultimately drive down GHG emissions. We have not delayed action in the past, and we will not delay action now.

Between 1990 and 2020, we have reduced our greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) by 75%, and we believe we can achieve an absolute carbon reduction of 94% by 2030 against our 1990 baseline.

Roche is committed to transparent reporting, and we endeavour to drive our economic, social and environmental performance with the same diligence as our financial performance. You can learn more 

In the UK, Roche supports over 21,000 jobs through business activities, supply chain and employee spending, contributing £1.2 billion to the UK economy in 2020. In order to deliver on our commitments, we work closely with all of our suppliers and support them as much as possible to build capability and manage their emissions. Examples include:

• Supporting our suppliers in capturing and progressing data on their carbon emissions, including a pilot project to offer all our suppliers renewable energy at Roche’s discounted rate, with the goal of having all our suppliers run on 100% renewable energy.

• Working with Manufacture 2030 to assist suppliers with the reporting of their emissions as part of our 10-year global ambition to reduce our overall environmental footprint by 50%.

Our Eco Crew are a passionate team of over 65 individuals from across our Welwyn and Burgess Hill sites, who have come together to educate and inspire our colleagues to contribute to our global sustainability initiatives, as well as running their own local ones.

Since the Eco Crew was founded in 2019, one of their first initiatives was to help reduce the amount of single use plastic used across our UK sites. The team organised the removal of individual bins with single use plastic liners from circa 400 desks, and this was followed by the removal of single use plastic cups from our refreshment areas.

The crew also supported the roll out of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) pensions, after an internal campaign drove awareness and interest, and continue to challenge our colleagues to bring more sustainable options into their day-to-day lives.

Healthcare matters to all of us and doesn’t discriminate. That’s why we work hard to ensure that all our new medicines and tests are made available to those who need them through the NHS - wherever they live, whatever their circumstances.

Sadly, there are still many health inequalities across the UK. For example, a recent report sponsored by Roche Diagnostics illustrates several ‘hidden victims’ of heart failure, including female patients who are 96% more likely to be misdiagnosed than men.5 

We partner with the wider UK health ecosystem with the aim of delivering, for all eligible patients, universal access to our medicines and tests. For example, we have been spearheading the collaboration with the AHSNs, NICE and NHS to deliver on the adoption of a NICE recommended test for the assessment of preeclampsia in pregnant women. 

Universal access to quality healthcare and medical innovation remains a global challenge.  To address this challenge, many of the world’s top relief and aid organisations have joined together with an ambitious goal: to eliminate many diseases.  In support of this ambition, Roche Diagnostics launched a  which provides access to diagnostics for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and cervical cancer (HPV), in high disease burden and qualified countries where reliable diagnostic solutions are needed most.

References

1. Provided by Safety, Health & Environment (SHE) team at Roche Products, Roche Diagnostics and Roche Diabetes Care

2. UK Greenhouse gas emissions by SIC 1990-2019 - Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

3. Provided by Safety, Health & Environment (SHE) team at Roche Products, Roche Diagnostics and Roche Diabetes Care

4. UK energy use: by industry, source, and fuel - Office for National Statistics

M-GB-00012048 Date of Preparation April 2023