To minimize potential impacts on biodiversity upstream in our supply chain, we developed standards that
guide our sourcing practices. All suppliers are expected to comply with our Responsibility Standards for Suppliers, which include requirements for addressing sustainability and environmental responsibility.
With respect to natural products and naturally derived ingredients, we have established internal checkpoints for documenting and tracking the use of such resources to ensure that they are used in accordance with local laws and regulations as well as our own policies and standards. We source these ingredients from third-party suppliers who are required to provide documentation of their compliance with applicable biodiversity laws.
For materials we purchase that could potentially originate from forest-rich regions, we developed specific responsible sourcing programs. Our Responsible Wood-Fiber Product Sourcing Policy guides our purchasing of forest-based products, and our Responsible Palm Oil Sourcing Policy outlines sourcing requirements for our purchasing of palm oil derived materials.
We recognize that our operations may impact local ecosystems and biodiversity. To minimize our direct impact, we undertake a biodiversity review at key facilities. Properties with significant natural areas that have sensitive flora or fauna are expected to maintain a biodiversity conservation action plan.
By 2030, achieve carbon neutrality for our operations, going beyond our Science-Based Target to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions 60% from 2016 levels.
By 2030, reduce absolute Scope 3 upstream value chain (Scope 3) emissions 20% from 2016 levels.
Establish strategies and programs to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations, supply chain and products by improving energy and water efficiency, addressing commodity-driven deforestation, and increasing our use of renewable energy
We continuously explore opportunities to reduce the environmental impacts of our packaging and support a circular economy through actions such as purchasing responsibly sourced packaging materials, reducing material use, and designing for recyclability. Where possible, we utilize circular shipping systems like returnable, reusable cold chain shipping packaging. Additionally, we seek to raise customer awareness around recyclability opportunities for healthcare packaging.
Managing end-of-life impacts of products
We seek to minimize the impacts of our products after their use phase and therefore design products, where feasible, for recovery, reprocessing, recycling and/or reuse. We also take efforts, whether as an individual company or as part of an industry group, to educate end-users on proper end-of-life management of products, packaging and medical technologies. Finally, for our Pharmaceutical products, we evaluate the potential impacts of products post-use to aquatic environments and employ risk mitigation measures as appropriate.
We are committed to controlling the concentrations of active pharmaceutical ingredients that may enter the environment from our manufacturing plants.
At our manufacturing plants handling active pharmaceutical ingredients, we monitor our wastewater for potential toxicity to aquatic species using a variety of methods (e.g., analytical testing, mass balance calculations and whole effluent testing). We provide secondary wastewater treatment at a minimum for our manufacturing plants, and treatment may also include advanced technologies that target removal of APIs from wastewater.
We are committed to collaborating with suppliers and educating patients and consumers to help mitigate concentrations of active pharmaceutical ingredients in the environment.
As outlined in our Responsibility Standards for Suppliers, suppliers to the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies are expected to operate in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner, including continually working to reduce the environmental impacts of their operations and implementing programs to manage wastewater that ensure compliance and mitigate impacts to the environment. We verify supplier environmental performance through several channels including: on-site audits conducted by Johnson & Johnson environmental professionals; supplier scans through EcoVadis, a sustainability ratings firm that evaluates companies’ environmental and social responsibility; and through membership in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative, which sets common standards for responsible supply chain practices. We educate patients and consumers on how to locate disposal options and instruct them on proper disposal methods to avoid flushing.
We do this through several outreach efforts including the MyOldMeds initiative in the United States and MEDSDISPOSAL in the EU. We were also a founding member of the Pharmaceutical Product Stewardship Working Group, which is the largest extended producer responsibility (EPR) organization in the United States dedicated to ensuring the proper collection and disposal of unused and/or expired medicines as well as used sharps.
