Janssen PARTNER IGNITE a sustainable supply chain initiative
When it comes to environmental sustainability, we are all familiar with these terms: ‘Energy Efficiency’, ‘Renewable Resources’, ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’, ‘CO2 Reduction’, ‘Circularity’. As a planet we have been talking about all these topics for a long time. It’s difficult to get an all-embracing definition of sustainability – but keeping it simple – it is putting in approaches today that will allow a best functioning planet in the future – while creating a healthier and more equitable world. And sometimes that is why sustainability doesn’t get the mainstream focus that it deserves. There is an element of kicking the can down the road. On the environmental side in particular, we see all the manifestations that the planet is heading for trouble but it’s almost like – if we don’t have the crisis right here and now – then as a planet – we are slow to act. And of course, we all know there may come a point where it could be too late.
An initiative of interest to Janssen worldwide this year has been to engage suppliers, and in particular material suppliers or development partners, to see how environmental sustainability might be better achieved by taking an end-to-end view of the supply chain. A software application was initiated called PARTNER IGNITE which allowed supplier partners to suggest areas where greater environmental savings might be achieved. The software then allows for dialogue back and forward to refine and enhance the ideas. Ultimately there are system features within the application to compare and quantify, thus allowing for a limited number of selected proposals to be brought forward on an elevated partnership basis.
Through PARTNER IGNITE, The Janssen Small Molecule API group look forward to deepening these relationships with material suppliers and development partners to improve our overall sustainability going forward.
For Johnson & Johnson / Janssen, there is keen awareness of the need to focus on sustainability and – more important – to be executing in a proactive and responsible way. J&J has a value statement called the ‘Credo’ This ‘Credo’ was created in 1943 by Robert Wood Johnson, a member of the founding family of the J&J Company. It was created just before the company became a publicly traded entity and long before the term “corporate social responsibility” was used for accountability in the workplace. The Credo identifies the organisation’s responsibility to its customers/patients, employees, stockholders, the community and the environment. So – with respect to the environment – there has been a long-standing focus on trying to balance a need to utilise resources and energy to create medications that will help our society, improve our quality of life, save our lives – with a parallel focus on doing this in as sustainable a way as possible.
Every year J&J publishes its ‘Health for Humanity Report’ and to quote directly from the report – “we blend heart, science and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health for humanity, and many of our achievements contribute to this bold vision.”. Through the years the focus on environment has resulted in many innovative and creative approaches to getting a more enhanced sustainable outcome in a host of many different ways. The organisation also posts its Sustainability Goals for each coming year and uses independent review to verify its data. Achieving these Goals is seen as integral to J&J’s long-term success and are looked at as Key Performance Indicators of the organisation’s citizenship and sustainability approach.
J&J’s focus encompasses the following areas – not an exhaustive list:
- Energy from renewable sources
- Energy efficiency
- Leadership in climate resilience and disclosure
- Waste and packaging management
- Water management
- Inclusion and Diversity, Employee Wellbeing, Stakeholder Engagement, Community Engagement
Added to the above, one of the other main areas where Janssen Small Molecule API aim their focus is in the area of Solvent Usage, in order to look for areas to eliminate, reduce and recover it.
Janssen – a member of the J&J family of companies.
This piece was written by Michael Napier, Scientific Fellow, Janssen Global Technical Operations
