Why do we care? What does it mean?

This is Levy, our employee Symantha’s baby. Born in 2021, Levy will probably live well into the next century, 2100. But what will the world look like then? As Levy’s parents, many are worried that living conditions for future generations will be dramatically worsen if we do not act more responsibly regarding planet earth´s resources.

The time to change is now.

At RGD we aspire to do the best we can to contribute to a fairer, less polluted world, within the planetary boundaries. Therefore, we have embarked on a transformative journey to achieve more sustainability in drug discovery. Here you can find information about how we use our competence for initiatives and collaborations to deliver solutions with less harmful impact on the environment, in alignment with our mission- better health for people and planet.

RGD takes action for climate and sustainable development

“What gets measured, gets managed”

In collaboration with the climate consultancy firm 2050, through the use of standardized approaches and globally accepted principles, Red Glead Discovery has generated a Greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory that represents a fair account of its emissions.

In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that global warming must not exceed 1.5°C to avoid severe and irreversible impacts of climate change. To achieve this, GHG emissions must halve by 2030 – and drop to net-zero by 2050. Even small- and medium sized companies such as Red Glead Discovery need to contribute -every sector in every market must transform. Red Glead Discovery is ready to take responsibility.

The Science based target initiative defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting, for carbon emission reductions and net-zero targets in line with climate science.  Red Glead Discovery’s GHG inventory is the basis for setting goals to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG 38% from a base year (2021) until 2030 and commit to reach net-zero by 2050. The SBTi has approved Red Glead Discovery´s near-term science-based emissions reduction target. Red Glead Discovery has also committed to set long-term emissions reduction targets with the SBTi in line with reaching net-zero by 2045. Thus, Red Glead Discovery has taken the first steps towards developing a net-zero strategy and is actively working to establish long-term targets that are aligned with the SBTi´s net-zero criteria.

As of August 2022, over 1,600 companies worldwide are leading the transition to a net-zero economy by setting emissions reduction targets grounded in climate science through the SBTi.

Red Glead Discovery is one of them.

Exerting action to contribute to climate goals is of uttermost importance, however there are more global challenges responsible companies should give attention to in order to promote sustainable development according to the areas identified by the UN. Understanding that good practices or innovation in one area cannot make up for doing harm in another, we are integrating sustainability into our business model and have allocated financial resources as well as the equivalent to one full time employee for sustainability initiatives during 2022. Thus, we are currently scrutinizing our value chain and operations, as well as supply chain, in relation to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to identify areas where we can reduce harmful environmental impact and similarly, areas where we can contribute positively. We are committed to change our organisational approach to meet ambitious new objectives. See below a number of initiatives which we have started and their progress.

Pipeline – What we do

Activity
Progress
Goal to be reached by 2022
Goal to be reached by 2030

Setting Science based targets

GHG protocol analysis performed
Near and long term goals defined
Goal to be reached by 2022: SBTi approval of near-term target
Goal to be reached by 2030: 38% reduction of scope 1 and 2 emissions

UN Sustainability development goals

Prioritisation of goals and development of targets
Goal to be reached by 2022: Targets set

Green chemistry initiatives

Evaluation of alternative solvents for peptide synthesis
Goal to be reached by 2022: Implementation of use

Waste reduction

Assessment of waste reduction potential
Set goals for waste reduction
Goal to be reached by 2022: Deliver on goals

Establish supplier program

Define supplier program
Enrol suppliers
Goal to be reached by 2022: 20% of suppliers enrolled

Will you join us?

Further, we will be transparent about who we work with and why, recognising that we will lead and inform positive change through collaboration with customers, suppliers and peers. By forming coalitions with organisations and people sharing our vision for more sustainable drug discovery, we will get empowered to reach our goals.

This is a journey and we have just started — will you join us?