Environmental Sustainability

In our determined effort to reduce carbon emissions, we are:

• Establishing absolute emission reduction goals
• Setting aggressive goals to increase the amount of renewable energy we consume
• Investing in technology, infrastructure and processes that increase energy efficiency and use cleaner energy sources  
• Incorporating energy efficient design into the construction of our new facilities
• Expanding the use of electric and hybrid vehicles in our fleets

Access to clean water is crucial for human health, and we are committed to using water responsibly. To help protect this vital resource, we:

• Have set an ambitious goal to halve our absolute water withdrawal by 2035 compared to our 2015 baseline
• Collect and analyze the quantity of our water intake and consumption as well as the quality of our water discharge at our global manufacturing and research facilities
• Invest in innovative technologies that allow us to use water more efficiently
• Evaluate water risk at our global manufacturing and research facilities annually, and focus our efforts on the portion of our total global water consumption that occurs in water-stressed areas

As a pharmaceutical company, we recognize the importance of minimizing waste and using appropriate disposal methods for both hazardous and non-hazardous waste alike. In managing waste, we:

• Set a goal to achieve zero waste to landfill by 2035
• Continuously evaluate opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle our waste materials
• Characterize waste streams to determine waste classification and proper disposal methods
• Routinely audit the procedures and practices of third-party waste management providers to ensure our waste is properly managed and disposed of
• Provide waste management training to AbbVie employees and contract workers responsible for hazardous waste management activities
• Focus on creating designs for our package material and finished packaging to facilitate diversion from the landfill

We use external partnerships and standards bodies to increase our accountability, help guide our environmental actions and drive collective action that no one company could achieve on its own. Below are a few examples.

• In 2021, we commited to join the Science Based Targets initiative along with other ambitious corporate leaders committing to carbon emission targets aligned to the Paris Climate Agreement.
• In 2020, we partnered with S&P Global Trucost to perform a Climate Risk Assessment for Physical Risks. The risk assessment encompassed 100 global sites and locations including all of our manufacturing, R&D and warehouse locations, along with select commercial affiliate offices.
• To prepare for stronger hurricanes, all roofs at our Barceloneta, Puerto Rico site have been designed and reinforced to withstand a category 5 hurricane. In addition, we replaced the cogeneration system at the site. The new system is designed with redundant engines to better ensure that we can self-generate power in the event one of the engines is damaged during a storm event.
• To prepare for power interruptions from wildfires, we installed and commissioned an on-site emergency generator at our R&D site in South San Francisco.
  
  

The 2021 Assurance Report outlines performance for corporate-wide environmental and safety data.

We monitor our operations to ensure that the manufacturing, use and disposal of our products does not adversely affect people or the planet. Our ongoing research efforts aid our understanding of issues surrounding pharmaceuticals in the environment—insights which will guide our future decisions. To monitor our operations, we:

• Provide regulatory authorities with environmental risk assessments that are used to evaluate potential environmental risks associated with patient use of our medications
• Continually evaluate the potential environmental risks of our active pharmaceutical ingredients
• Partner with industry organizations such as the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) to identify and quantify environmental risks

Our suppliers are expected to champion our environmental protection efforts with us. As part of our supply chain management program, we assess the environmental stewardship practices of key suppliers and their processes.

Guided by our Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) procurement policy, we prioritize suppliers and purchased goods that have lower negative impact on the environment and human health. As part of this policy, we:

• Consider and promote favorable environmental factors of procured products including—among other factors—recyclability, biodegradability and elimination of toxicity
• Integrate responsible environmental, health and safety (EHS) language into our contract templates to ensure that our EHS stewardship expectations are clearly communicated to suppliers of key products and services
  

Learn more about how we manage our supply chain.