Schneider Electric: Decarbonising the Healthcare Industry

Schneider Electric’s Energize programme has brought eight major healthcare companies together in a collective effort to cut their environmental impact, focusing on Scope 3 emissions from supply chains.

This initiative sees Schneider partnering with solar developers to secure renewable energy agreements aimed at decarbonising healthcare, a sector accountable for nearly 5% of global emissions.

Scope 3 emissions, often indirect and scattered throughout a company's supply chain, are among the hardest emissions to address.

For healthcare firms, they arise from the extensive processes of manufacturing, transportation and services essential to maintaining operations.

Energize tackles this complexity by pooling the resources and buying power of multiple companies, facilitating renewable energy procurement on a large scale and creating long-term impacts.

The healthcare sector’s significant carbon footprint is driven largely by indirect emissions, commonly categorised as Scope 3, that stem from supply chain activities.

These emissions cover the entire spectrum of activities from the production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices to their global distribution.

However, reducing these emissions is challenging as they involve suppliers and vendors beyond a company’s direct control, requiring a sector-wide approach to achieve meaningful reductions.

Energize, Schneider Electric’s flagship sustainability initiative, aims to help healthcare companies address this problem by providing a platform for renewable energy procurement, especially in countries like Spain where solar energy can be a reliable source.

By coordinating healthcare companies to enter into Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with solar developers, the programme aims to replace traditional power sources with renewable alternatives, thus lowering the sector’s carbon impact.

As part of the programme, participating firms are securing electricity from seven solar projects developed by Zelestra and Bruc, which will generate 563.7 GWh annually.

The initiative is expected to offset approximately 393,795 metric tons of CO2 each year – equivalent to the energy use of more than 50,000 homes.

Through these large-scale, multi-buyer PPAs, the programme supports a shift to greener energy in healthcare, facilitating access to clean energy for companies that may otherwise lack the scale to pursue such projects individually.

Uniting for a cleaner, sustainable supply chain

The participating companies, including Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, UCB, Avantor, Organon, Perrigo, West Pharmaceutical Services and GSK, see collaboration as essential for meaningful impact in the sector’s sustainability efforts.

Each of these firms brings its specific sustainability goals to the programme, with Takeda Pharmaceuticals aiming for net-zero emissions across its supply chain by 2040.

Takeda’s Global Manufacturing and Supply Officer, Thomas Wozniewski, emphasises that sustainable practices in healthcare extend beyond business needs: “Planetary health is critical for patient health and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to reduce the environmental impact of our business and our value chain.”

By collaborating on PPAs, Energize participants create a more accessible market for renewable energy, which lowers costs and streamlines the shift to sustainable power sources. Such agreements also send a strong message about the healthcare sector’s readiness to invest in renewable infrastructure.

PPAs provide a framework where companies purchase electricity from renewable projects at a fixed price, an arrangement that benefits both buyers and developers by locking in energy supply while supporting investment in new solar projects.

Teva Pharmaceuticals also expresses excitement, with Amalia Adler Waxman, Head of Sustainability, explaining: “By covering most of our electricity needs in Europe and nearly half globally, we are setting the standard for responsible energy use and driving toward our long-term goal of net zero emissions.”

Charting the future of decarbonised healthcare

Looking ahead, Energize sets a precedent for how the healthcare industry can actively reduce its carbon footprint through shared efforts.

As a Co-Founder of Energize, GSK has been instrumental in the programme’s success, reinforcing the healthcare industry’s role in renewable energy transition.

Lisa Martin, GSK’s Chief Procurement Officer, highlights the importance of Energize’s impact: “We are thrilled the first Energize deal has been announced, marking an important milestone in the collaboration’s history.

"We co-founded Energize in 2021 and the programme is an important part of our plan to reduce value chain emissions by 80% from 2020 to 2030.”

By participating in Energize, healthcare companies align their sustainability goals with measurable action, building a pathway towards collective decarbonisation.

With these commitments, the Energize programme illustrates how industries with complex supply chains can adopt renewable energy on a large scale.

Beyond this, it represents a growing trend of joint corporate action to address the climate crisis, setting the stage for further collaboration across sectors.

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