- 96% of pharmaceutical companies across the G7 remain committed to achieving net zero in line with national targets, more than three-quarters (78%) say their net zero programmes are critical to future business resilience, and 37% expect to increase investment in net zero initiatives over the next year
- PAS 2090 is emerging as a harmonized and practical framework for measuring and reducing the environmental impact of medicines
Nine in ten (87%) pharmaceutical companies across the UK and G7 countries expect climate-related disruption to their supply chains to increase in the years ahead, according to BSI's 2026 G7 ‘temperature check’. The findings show that pharmaceutical businesses are increasingly viewing net zero as a business resilience and competitiveness issue, with 84% saying maintaining momentum on net zero is important to their business.
The healthcare sector represents 5% of GHG emissions globally, the new report confirms that steps are being taken to reduce this with over a third (37%) planning to increase investment in net zero initiatives over the next year. The findings suggest that climate action is becoming embedded within core business strategy, driven by concerns around future costs, operational resilience and long-term competitiveness. Almost all pharmaceutical leaders surveyed (96%) say they remain committed to achieving net zero in line with national targets.
Climate action seen as critical to future resilience
Nearly nine in ten respondents (88%) are concerned about the future costs and resilience implications of failing to prepare for climate change. More than three-quarters (78%) say their net zero programmes are critical to future business resilience, while 82% believe the economic risks of failing to transition outweigh the costs of taking action.
This perspective is helping sustain momentum despite ongoing uncertainty. Seven in ten respondents (71%) say they will continue pursuing net zero regardless of political conditions because it is fundamentally good for business. Customer expectations (83%) and a broader commitment to a sustainable future (82%) also remain important drivers.
Measuring what matters
As companies move from commitment to implementation, the challenge becomes measurement of impact. There is increasing focus on understanding and reducing the environmental impact of medicines across their full lifecycle, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal.
A key enabler is PAS 2090, which is already being used across the healthcare ecosystem to support more consistent environmental reporting and decision-making. Published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) at the end of 2025, PAS 2090 provides a consistent, flexible and globally applicable methodology for carrying out life cycle assessments, with the aim of facilitating environmentally optimised pharmaceuticals from drug substance to end of life and accelerating progress towards net zero.
Courtney Soulsby, Healthcare Development Director, BSI, said: “We know from our research that there is a significant shift in how pharmaceutical companies view the transition to net zero. Rather than treating sustainability as a standalone objective, many now see climate action as essential to protecting future business resilience.
By providing a harmonized standard for environmental product lifecycle assessments, PAS 2090 addresses a longstanding challenge for healthcare systems and manufacturers, providing a consistent method for measuring and ultimately reducing environmental impacts across pharmaceuticals. The industry wide use of the standard shows commitment towards accelerating progress towards a more sustainable healthcare sector.”
Download PAS 2090 here.
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About the ‘G7 temperature check’ research
Research was conducted by Censuswide in February 2026, covering 7,068 business leaders in G7 countries (UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan). 11% of the businesses leaders worked in the pharmaceutical industry. Data was weighted to the profile of the business population in each country, specifically in terms of their size / number of employees, to ensure that ‘total’ figures reported are based on a nationally representative profile of businesses.
Biography
Courtney Soulsby works as a Global Director for the Healthcare and Life Sciences sector team for BSI, focusing on healthcare sustainability. Courtney has worked with pharmaceutical and med tech industries and their supply chains for over ten years – with a deep understanding the issues with regulation, environment, security, compliance, sustainability, and other risk exposures when manufacturing and transporting medicines.
