Sustainability is Everyone’s Obligation

By: Thomas Otto, Vetter Managing Director 

 For any company worldwide, both large and small, there should be a high emphasis placed on social responsibility. This obligation is not just for today, but for future generations to come. Business or individual, everyone must contribute to the protection of the planet. However, acting with social responsibility is far more than the very important role of environment protection. It also includes overall sustainability and acting in a manner that recognizes the impact our actions have upon others. As a leading service provider to the pharmaceutical industry, we produce drug products for our customers that contribute to the improvement in the quality of life for patients worldwide by providing their drug products in a proper and high-quality manner. We are operating in a resource-intensive industry that is subject to strict and binding regulations by worldwide healthcare authorities. Sustainable activities are often also dependent on how strong the behavior for this topic is in the mindsets of governments, cultures, and people worldwide, for example, between Europe and Asia.

The five pillars of Vetter’s corporate social responsibility approach

It is for these reasons that sustainability is a central pillar of our corporate philosophy. Our stance on this subject is firmly anchored within our organization and the reason why we take a holistic approach. We have been acting green for a number of years and have set high goals for our company as it pertains to sustainability. We accomplish them by verifying and realizing options where we are able to harmonize regulatory requirements together with environmental-friendly use of resources necessary to achieve sustainability. For example, we have achieved an important milestone by supplying all of our German sites with CO₂ neutral electricity from certified renewable energy sources. Our next milestone on the energy side is already set with a plan to offset our company-wide use of natural gas, making it completely CO₂ neutral. Any unavoidable CO₂ emissions are then offset by investments in recognized, high-quality climate protection projects, such as those involving reforestation. For approximately 10 years, we have been certified according to the standards for environmental protection ISO 14001, as well as occupational health and safety BS OHSAS 18001. Since 2014, we have also been certified according to the standards for energy management ISO 50001.

The reasons for our energy-intensive business are understandable. When the end-product is a drug that is directly injected into the human being, strong regulations are always justified, even when causing broad usage of different types of energy. We recognize that the very reason for our being is to contribute to the improvement in the quality of life of patients worldwide. We do so through a commitment to our customers by providing them with high-quality drug products for patients. We also want to offer our customers added value in the field of sustainability. As such, our activities also contribute to their sustainability strategies. Keeping these multiple responsibilities in mind often influence and facilitate our individual decisions to act green.

We accept our role in sustainable actions such as the protection of our planet and believe that everyone should contribute. Given the role that climate change and other factors have played in the many changes to our world over the past several years, we understand that our actions are one part of the solution for a hopefully good future for all.