Vetter's contribution to climate protection: Company locations worldwide CO2-neutral

Thoughtfully designed with plenty of storage space: State-of-the-art bicycle parking options are just one of many sustainability measures at Vetter. (Image source: Vetter Pharma International GmbH)

Thoughtful and with plenty of storage space: State-of-the-art bicycle parking options are just one of many sustainability measures at Vetter. (Image source: Vetter Pharma International GmbH)

– Continuous investments in energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technology
– Purchase of green electricity and offering sustainable mobility solutions
– Support for certified climate protection measures

The "Green Deal" initiated by the European Commission aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero across the EU by 2050, making Europe climate-neutral. Vetter, a globally leading Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), has had this topic on its corporate agenda for many years. Now, the pharmaceutical service provider is making another contribution: Vetter is climate-neutral across all locations and leaves no more carbon footprint. After the German sites, which have been climate-neutral since last year, this has now also been achieved at the Austrian, American, and Asian production and sales branches. This important milestone was made possible through the interplay of many components within a long-term CO2 strategy in the company.

Investments in energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technology play a central role in this. For example, the pharmaceutical service provider relies on combined heat and power plants, photovoltaic systems, and geothermal energy. Over the past approximately ten years, the company has successfully implemented over 100 efficiency projects, saving more than 30 million kWh of electricity, natural gas, and biogas in total. In the last five years alone, around 4,500 tons of carbon dioxide have been reduced. New buildings are always constructed according to the latest environmental standards.

An additional key component is energy supply. Since 2014, all German sites have been supplied with green electricity from hydropower. The same applies to the site in Rankweil, Austria, acquired in 2020.

Vetter also relies on a comprehensive, modular concept for alternative mobility to make the switch to sustainable transportation as attractive as possible for its employees. The pharmaceutical service provider has already invested in two highly innovative bicycle parking facilities at its Ravensburg locations, with more to follow at other sites. There is also a bike-sharing partnership with a local energy provider, allowing employees to travel quickly and resource-efficiently between company locations. Through the JobRad program, Vetter offers its employees attractive leasing conditions for new bicycles. Additionally, employees can refuel their electric cars with electricity from hydropower, for which the necessary infrastructure has been established at the first locations.

"We take our responsibility for the environment and climate protection very seriously as a sustainably acting family business. We always strive for the most environmentally friendly solution whenever possible," says Vetter Managing Director Thomas Otto.

However, emissions in the highly regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing cannot be completely avoided. Henryk Badack, Senior Vice President of Technical Service/Internal Project Management, explains: "Since the pharmaceutical sector must comply with numerous regulatory requirements and high standards to ensure patients worldwide receive flawless and high-quality medications, production is energy-intensive. Therefore, it is all the more important for us to offset the resulting emissions sensibly." CO2 compensation is one way to do this, meaning that unavoidable emissions are offset through the financing of high-quality and certified climate protection measures. The projects supported by Vetter are subject to strict requirements. They must primarily relate to the generation of renewable energy. Additionally, the facilities used for this purpose must not be older than ten years. Furthermore, the certificates must meet the standards of the Kyoto Protocol or the Paris Agreement.

"Despite the very important milestone of achieving global CO2 neutrality, we continue to work tirelessly to advance our environmental initiatives and make our company even greener," says Vetter Managing Director Peter Sölkner. "As a family business that thinks in generations, we see this as an important component of our social responsibility, also towards our children and grandchildren."