Key Learnings in Implementing Sustainable Practices at a Global CDMO, Contributing to a Better Future that Works for All
Our Global Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Program
Today more than ever, businesses are uniquely qualified to address the impacts of climate change and social inequality. PCI has formally established the Global ESG Program as the foundation for our sustainable business practices. We believe in creating the changes we want to see in the world.
PCI’s corporate ESG commitment has gained recognition from global sustainability agencies, having been awarded Bronze Medal status by leading sustainability performance rating organisation EcoVadis. PCI’s Philadelphia Headquarters and Biotech Center of Excellence have been awarded Gold Medal status by EcoVadis.
Measuring Progress: Selecting the Right Partners
We embarked on our ESG journey in 2020, appointing Proof as an agile partner for data management, able to provide the level of support and expertise to launch our program in the most efficient way possible. Proof demonstrated that they were well-versed in sustainability frameworks and reporting guidelines, extremely knowledgeable of the ESG landscape, and receptive to feedback on products and services. They quickly became an extension of our ESG team, which is vital to the success of our program. Proof has helped us transition beyond ESG to articulate PCI’s Impact on global communities.
By mining disjointed data across PCI’s global business sites through direct system integrations and translating it into actionable metrics, analytics, and insights, Proof provides our key decision-makers, investors, and stakeholders with an informed vantage point that allows a better understanding of our business and empowers them to actively live and breathe our values. Following data submission, we needed to identify a partner to assess and benchmark our results. We selected the EcoVadis Enterprise Platform for our sustainable procurement program and leveraged the existing EcoVadis network to access suppliers’ scorecards to begin understanding the work that suppliers have done along their own sustainability journeys.
To maintain a steady cadence of data reporting and analysis, we internally measure our performance across the nine ESG impact categories prioritised by PCI every six months allowing us to compare and track progress. Externally, we have committed to assessing our global sustainability performance annually via EcoVadis with the aim to continuously improve our score year on year. In addition, we will be publishing our first Sustainability Report to communicate our goals and achieve better transparency with our clients and vendors.
Building Sustainable Facilities
Following the ESG program launch and with the right teams in place, we began leveraging best practices across sites for waste management, energy, and water consumption. For example, our Philadelphia site now purchases electricity from 100% renewable sources, with the rest of PCI sites taking steps towards procuring 100% renewable energy by 2030. As a result of these actions and our key learnings, we are now able to weave ESG into the fabric of PCI’s growth by implementing ESG efforts into both new and existing sites. For example, we recently announced the opening of our New England Clinical Center of Excellence in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, which was constructed to reflect ESG and sustainability efforts. The site’s features include a stormwater runoff system, an underground oil and sedimentation separation tank, electric vehicle chargers, and the exclusive use of LED lighting. Overall, our goal is to integrate ESG practices into PCI’s DNA, making it a priority element when implementing new practices, and procedures, in the building of new or expanding existing facilities.
