At Cipla, our ethos of “Caring for Life” extends to caring for people and caring for our planet. Therefore, we’re implanting sustainable practices and responsible resource consumption, in line with our mission to enhance access to qualify, affordable medicines globally.
Who Are We
Impact & Sustainability
Sustainability initiatives
The pharmaceutical industry impacts the environment in many ways, from development of drugs to manufacturing, packaging, and waste disposal. We therefore continually strive to reduce our carbon footprint through research and implementing more environmentally friendly business operations.
Inhaler Recycling Project
In South Africa alone, 6.34m inhalers are dispensed annually. And these inhalers are all made of plastic, among things. So, we’re launching a campaign to encourage people to dispense of their asthma inhalers responsibly and sustainably. The plastic will be recycled and repurposed into items that will make a profound difference in communities while helping to reduce our collective carbon footprint.
Repurposed Marketing Items
After a campaign has ended, there’s usually a plethora of marketing material left to collect dust in a storeroom, before ending up in a landfill. We’ve partnered with Grow to give old marketing material a new lease on life. The Growbag upcycled range converts promotional materials into a unique range of planters! The material used is highly durable and long-lasting making it a sustainable and eco-friendly product.
Paper-usage Reduction
Cipla is currently implementing innovative measures – such as digitizing package inserts (PI) – to reduce our carbon footprint. The PI will be accessible on various newly launched products initially, simply by scanning the QR code on the medicine packaging. The digitized PI ensures convenient access to up-to-date information as it can be easily updated and helps improve legibility as the font on the printed versions is generally very small. It also helps to significantly reduce the number of printed inserts required, thereby preserving natural resources.
Reverse Vending Machine
One of the ways that we’re trying to do our bit for the environment is by installing a reverse vending machine (RVM) and some of our offices. The objective of the RVM is to divert waste from our landfills in accordance with Cipla’s ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) goals and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This machine creates an incentive for people to recycle as they can earn points for recycled materials, which can be converted into vouchers for valued goods.
