Novo Nordisk: Nature Positive Ambitions in Pharmaceuticals
Clean air, water, food and climate regulation are all vital to business and rely on the health of nature.
Nature brings at least US$1.25tn of business value every year according to the WWF, but many current business practices are harming it.
Novo Nordisk, however, plans to make its nature impact positive by 2045 and halt the loss of nature in its value chain by 2033.
“This work complements our overarching Circular for Zero strategy and was developed alongside and in collaboration with our net zero and plastic targets,” explains Cath Tayleur, Associate Director Nature and Biodiversity at Novo Nordisk, in a post on LinkedIn.
“It isn't an easy task, and we certainly don't have all the answers. But I am excited to be part of a company that is willing to drive the change we need for the planet."
How Novo Nordisk will approach land use
Known for its diabetes care pharmaceutical products and services, much of Novo Nordisk’s impact on land is driven by glucose in its production.
Paper and cardboard packaging it uses also impact its use of land.
The company says on its website that it will work with its suppliers to ensure that the wheat and maize used to produce its glucose comes from regenerative farms.
Farms using regenerative agriculture are working to restore soils alongside reducing the nature and carbon impacts of farming.
The company also says on its website that it wants to tackle deforestation and says it will work with suppliers to ensure its paper and cardboard supply chain is free from deforestation and in compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation.
Novo Nordisk’s water impact
At most of its sites, Novo Nordisk’s most critical dependency on nature is access to freshwater its website says.
Some of its sites operate in areas of high water stress and risk, so it has chosen six sites to focus on as a priority:
- Kalundborg, Denmark
- Hillerød, Denmark
- Chartres, France
- Clayton, USA
- Tianjin, China
- Montes Claros, Brazil
Water is also a key input for many commodities in Novo Nordisk’s supply chain and the company says some of its raw materials may contribute to water pollution through production and manufacturing processes.
At its priority production sites, Novo Nordisk will implement water savings programmes and it aims to set a revised ambition for its water savings target in 2028.
The company also plans to engage its suppliers on water to address quantity and pollution in its upstream value chain.
“We have also investigated whether our medicines are likely to have environmental impacts after patient use, currently most of our portfolio is biodegradable and does not persist in the environment, however, we continue to monitor this issue,” the company says on its website.
Biodiversity and Novo Nordisk
Some of Novo Nordisk’s sites are near priority biodiversity areas, so it has chosen seven as priority sites for action:
- Kalundborg, Denmark
- Hillerød, Denmark
- Tietgenbyen, Denmark
- Clayton, USA
- Durham, USA
- New Hampshire, USA
- Montes Claros, Brazil
Novo Nordisk aims to establish biodiversity positive sites including its future expansion projects.
It is also considering its impact on endangered species.
The company explains on its website: “We also have some specific dependencies on individual species such as horseshoe crabs.”
Horseshoe crab blood can be used to test the sterility of drugs and medical devices through making amebocyte lysate (LAL).
Novo Nordisk says on its website it will continue to work to phase out its reliance on products from endangered species, primarily horseshoe crabs as harvesting their blood can impact populations.
It has already stopped the use of endangered horseshoe crab species Tachypleus sp., and it has a plan to phase out the use of other species of horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, subject to regulatory approval of alternatives.
How will Novo Nordisk approach nature restoration?
The company says on its website collaboration and partnerships will be key to its nature restoration plans to ensure real impact.
Within Novo Nordisk’s value chain, it will contribute to partnership projects that help balance its impacts on water and biodiversity through taking restorative actions in the landscapes where it operates.
“We know that we have a global footprint, and source many raw materials with origins from around the world,” it says on its website.
Beyond its value chain, the company says on its website it will work to develop a plan by the end of 2025 that helps to restore areas of nature relevant to its business.
Decoupling business growth from nature impacts
Novo Nordisk says on its website: “Reducing our pressure on nature, while also growing our business, will require innovation, long-term optimisations and external partners.”
The company wants to find new ways to produce its products and solutions that inspire others to transform their approaches.
These efforts focus on glucose.
It aims to optimise glucose use through innovations in fermentation processes in its production and find alternative sources of feedstock through the use of new technologies.
Alternatives, it says on its website, will not only impact Novo Nordisk but the entire industry using glucose in its production process, so it is looking to explore alternatives in close collaboration with industry partners.
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