Pharmaceutical companies based in Spain are innovating more efficiently, reducing their environmental footprint, strengthening transparency, and fostering stronger and more equitable relationships with patients, healthcare professionals, public administrations, and society as a whole. This is reflected in the report. Sustainability in Figures: Social and Environmental Impact of the Pharmaceutical Industry 2025, recently presented in Madrid.
This report collects the results of the first survey on environmental performance of the pharmaceutical companies established in Spain, carried out by Farmaindustria and which included responses from 55 laboratories representing 60% of the market in our country. Among the conclusions of this survey, it is worth highlighting that 82% of the companies have circular economy; 62% calculate, directly or indirectly, their carbon footprint; that 57% have science-based emissions reduction targets, and that more than 50% employ recyclable materials or FSC certificates (forest management).
“The main challenges of the immediate future are reducing Scope 3 emissions, advancing the circular economy and green chemistry, efficient water and waste management, and ensuring the affordability of treatments. All of this occurs in a context where companies must continue their R&D work, respond to global health crises, and remain competitive in an increasingly demanding international market. These challenges also represent an opportunity to lead the transition toward a more sustainable model, leveraging digitalization, artificial intelligence, and sectoral collaborations that strengthen their resilience and their ability to build trust,” he stated. Juan Yermo, general director of Farmaindustria.
The other major new feature of this second sector report is the inclusion of the results of the study on the social commitment of pharmaceutical companies in Spain, conducted by the SERES Foundation and McKinsey.
According to Fernando Ruiz, president of the SERES Foundation, “The coming years will be extremely important for managing companies under strategies that focus on ESG factors, especially when it comes to social impact. Measuring and communicating this will be essential. To continue adding value to SERES companies, we have created the SERES Map of Social Footprint, a social impact measurement methodology that quantifies the impact of a company's economic activity on its customers, employees, suppliers, and the communities in which it operates, facilitating comparability from a sectoral perspective. This is a project in which we are involving the pharmaceutical industry, one of the most important in the Spanish economy. We look to the future with the certainty that social value will continue to be the key to achieving business excellence."
Finally, regarding good governance, the report highlights that governance in the pharmaceutical industry has been strengthened with new initiatives adapted to current challenges, such as the Code of Conduct regulating the processing of personal data in clinical trials and pharmacovigilance, approved in 2022 by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), making the sector the first in Europe with a sector-specific code approved under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This Code already has 30 member entities, mostly pharmaceutical companies that represent more than 80% of the clinical trials conducted in Spain.
On the other hand, strategic alliances with social and environmental entities, such as the ”la Caixa” Foundation, the ONCE Social Group or SIGRE, They strengthen the sector's connection with society and consolidate a model of responsible good governance based on co-responsibility and shared value.
Photo caption: Fernando Ruiz (SERES Foundation), Guillermo de Juan (GSK), Teresa Millán (Lilly) and Tomás Olleros (Farmasierrra).
