Rethinking Pharma Packaging: Bioplastics, Reusables, and Smarter Design
Leading companies are rethinking packaging design to reduce plastic use without compromising drug safety. Many firms are developing biodegradable or bio-based plastics – such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) – as alternatives to petroleum-based polymers (https://www.4ocean.com/blogs/pharmaceuticals/sustainable-pharma-innovations-in-reducing-plastic-waste). These plant-derived materials can maintain the necessary durability and barrier properties but with a smaller carbon footprint and better end-of-life options. Pharmaceutical companies are also exploring refillable and reusable containers, moving away from single-use blister packs when possible. For instance, some are piloting compostable blister packaging and pill bottles made from biodegradable materials. While ensuring drug stability remains a challenge, progress in material science is enabling these innovations in niche products. Additionally, firms are working on reducing packaging weight and material volume – an approach endorsed by the EU’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, which will require all packaging to be recyclable by 2030 (https://ispe.org/pharmaceutical-engineering/march-april-2023/sustainability-design-pharmaceutical-products). Roche, for example, has committed to redesign packaging to use 40% fewer raw materials and reduce weight, as part of its sustainable delivery goals https://xtalks.com/top-10-most-environmentally-sustainable-pharma-companies-in-2023-2024-3778). GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) similarly set a target to cut the environmental impact of its products and packaging by 25% by 2030, including using more recycled content and eliminating unnecessary plastics (https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/responsibility/environment/materials-and-waste).
Closing the Loop: Circular Solutions in Pharma Packaging
Progress is evident in industry-wide initiatives. Circular economy principles are gaining traction, with companies incorporating recycled plastics into manufacturing and designing packaging for recyclability.
The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI), a global industry consortium, promotes sharing best practices in waste reduction and sustainable packaging.
At the logistics end, some pharma firms have introduced take-back programs for used packaging. In Australia, the Pharmacycle program exemplifies this trend: it set up over 870 drop-off points for used blister packs and, since launching in 2022, has recycled 50 million blister packs by the start of 2025, diverting tons of plastic from landfills. The collected material is repurposed into products like composite decking, closing the loop by turning medical waste into useful materials. These efforts not only shrink pharma’s plastic footprint but also raise public awareness, with consumers increasingly participating in recycling programs (https://www.packagingnews.com.au/sustainability/pharmacycle-hits-50-million-blister-packs-recycled).
Regulatory Momentum and the Rise of Eco-Friendly Pharma Packaging
Regulatory pressures reinforce these changes. The European Union’s directive on single-use plastics is pushing to phase out certain disposable plastic items common in pharma packaging. Likewise, many countries (from Japan to Canada) have introduced strict rules to cut plastic use and boost recycling in healthcare. Companies must now balance Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) packaging standards with sustainability, prompting investment in R&D for materials that are both safe and eco-friendly. The trend toward electronic patient information leaflets, adopted by firms like AstraZeneca, also reduces paper and plastic packaging components, yielding both carbon and material savings (https://www.healthcaremea.com/pharma-companies-astrazeneca-pfizer-reiterate-focus-on-sustainability). With these innovations and policies, the pharma sector is slowly shedding its reliance on single-use plastics. The past three years have shown that climate-conscious packaging – once a niche idea – is becoming mainstream, driven by both environmental necessity and business logic.
Palm Oil in Pharma: Toward Sustainable Sourcing
Palm oil and its derivatives are ubiquitous in pharmaceuticals, serving as excipients, lubricants, coating agents, and emulsifiers in countless formulations. This versatile vegetable oil is found in capsules, tablets (as hydrogenated palm oil for coating), creams (as emulsifying agents), and more (https://whatispalmoil.com/blog/palm-oil-a-crucial-part-of-pharmaceutical-manufacturing). However, palm oil cultivation has long been associated with tropical deforestation and significant carbon emissions. As such, ensuring sustainable palm oil sourcing has become a priority for climate leadership in pharma supply chains. In the last few years, pharmaceutical companies have stepped up commitments to eliminate deforestation and unethical practices from their palm oil supply.
Pharma’s Palm Oil Pledge: Johnson & Johnson’s Role in Protecting Forests
Several leading pharma manufacturers now use only certified sustainable palm oil. Johnson & Johnson (J&J), for instance, relies on palm oil derivatives in various medications and personal care products, and it has maintained 100% RSPO certification for all the palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palm-based derivatives it purchases since 2020 (https://document.rspo.org/2021/Johnson_&_Johnson_ACOP2021.pdf). This means every ton of palm-based ingredient in J&J’s products is covered by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards, which aim to protect forests and human rights. J&J was an early mover – as far back as 2014 it pledged zero deforestation in its palm supply and started mapping its complex oleochemical supply chains to achieve full traceability (https://news.mongabay.com/2014/05/johnson-johnson-commits-to-zero-deforestation-for-palm-oil). “Although our usage is small on the global scale, we are committed to using our buying position to drive responsible palm oil practices worldwide” J&J stated in its pledge. This stance set an example that has echoed through the industry.
Sustainable by Design: BASF’s Push for Certified Palm Ingredients in Medicine
Suppliers to pharma have also facilitated this shift. Chemical giant BASF, which produces many excipients derived from palm kernel oil, announced that it became the first major supplier to offer 100% RSPO-certified lipid-based excipients for the pharmaceutical industry (https://care360.basf.com/docs/default-source/sustainable-palm-oil/6th-basf_palm-progress-report_2021.pdf?sfvrsn=f298b9c4_1/6th-BASF_Palm-Progress-Report_2021.pdf). By 2021, BASF achieved full traceability for its palm kernel oil supply, covering hundreds of mills. Its certified excipient product lines (e.g. Kolliphor, Kolliwax, etc.) enable drug makers to formulate medicines with sustainable palm-derived ingredients. This kind of upstream commitment is crucial, since the pharma sector often uses palm oil in derivative form (oleochemicals) where tracing origin is challenging. As BASF and others provide segregated or mass-balance certified palm ingredients, it lowers barriers for all pharma companies to source responsibly. Indeed, today many pharma companies are RSPO members or have policies mirroring RSPO criteria (no deforestation of high conservation value forests, no peatland conversion, fair labor, etc.), even if their total palm volumes are relatively small. The emphasis is on ensuring that every capsule shell, tablet coating, or cream base that comes from palm supports sustainable practices.
Deforestation, Disclosure, and the EU: Why Pharma Can’t Ignore Palm Oil
Investor and NGO pressure has played a role. Activist campaigns over the past decade targeted consumer-facing sectors first, but now scrutinize pharma’s palm oil use. Being a “laggard” on deforestation can tarnish a company’s reputation. Conversely, pharma firms that demonstrate ethical sourcing can score better on ESG ratings and avoid the risks of supply disruptions. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), adopted in 2023, adds regulatory teeth to these expectations. By end of 2024, companies placing products with palm oil (or soy, beef, etc.) on the EU market must prove the commodities are deforestation-free (https://www.acre.com/blog/the-eu-deforestation-regulation-the-talent-challenge-for-european-natural-resource-businesses). This law explicitly impacts healthcare: palm oil is listed as an essential component in medicine capsules, ointments, and excipients, all requiring traceability to sustainable sources. Complex global supply chains make this a challenge for pharma, but failure to comply will mean losing access to the EU market (https://www.fgvw.de/en/news/compliance-update-on-the-eu-deforestation-regulation-eudr-in-the-healthcare-sector). As a result, the next few years will likely see even tighter collaboration with initiatives like RSPO and accelerated efforts to map and clean up palm oil supply lines. The sustainability trend for palm oil in pharma, evident since 2022, has shifted from voluntary leadership by companies like J&J to an industry-wide movement driven equally by conscience and compliance.
Conclusion
These are exciting times as we are witnessing the pharmaceutical supply chain undergoing a green transformation at a global scale. What was once viewed as ancillary – reducing plastic waste, sourcing sustainable palm oil, cutting carbon – is now central to pharma’s mission of improving health in a responsible way. The climate leadership shown in the past few years by pioneering companies will become the norm as pressures and opportunities converge. But continued progress is not automatic; it requires expertise, investment, and often, collaboration with external partners. For organizations in the pharma industry looking to accelerate their sustainability journey – from designing carbon-neutral supply chains to investing in verified carbon credits – working with experienced partners is key. This is where consultancies like CarbonCreditCapital.com come in, contact us today to explore sustainability consulting, carbon credit purchases, and collaboration opportunities. Together with your stakeholders, we can ensure that the pharma supply chain of the future heals the planet as much as it heals patients.
