UCB's Global Corporate Website

We aim to become carbon neutral by 2030

We take a long-term view, considering the overall footprint of our business activities alongside our growth. Our efforts are aimed not only at overcoming the challenge on our own, but also working with partners across our end-to-end value chain.

To do so, we simultaneously work on different axes:

  1. reduce the impact of our existing footprint; 
  2. advocate for change management;
  3. limit the emissions coming from new projects through a green-by-design approach;
  4. for the emissions we cannot reduce, support compensation projects.

Our CO2e target is approved by the Science Based Target Initiative

1. We reduce the existing impacts from all parts of our footprint (scope 1, 2 and 3) 

To this end, we:

  • Make our operations more energy efficient. For example, the biggest share of our energy consumption is attributable to the HVAC (air management), this system is the subject of a vast optimisation program aimed at ensuring that ventilation rates are reduced to the minimum required and that temperature and humidity ranges are as wide as possible, considering the requirements both during and outside the periods of occupancy (night set back).
  • Increase the use of energy generated from renewable sources, produced on UCB sites or purchased. For example, we continue substituting natural gas for biogas produced from wastes.
  • Transition our entire company fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030, as part of our global climate targets and efforts to reduce our GHG emissions. We acknowledge the different challenges to achieve this goal, including the electrification maturity in the countries where we operate, limited charging infrastructure, and EVs manufacturing constrains. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to reducing our environmental impact and continue to evaluate solutions to these issues to offer sustainable mobility options in locations where such options positively impact the health of the planet.
  • Whenever possible, shift to transport for both our raw materials and finished goods from airplane to boats.

3. We build green-by-design in our facilities and assets

  • We are committed to achieving green building certification for all new or significantly refurbished buildings and facilities. (BREEAM in Europe or equivalent in LEED certification framework for U.S. and Asia).
  • To reduce the environmental impacts of our products through their lifecycle, we have launched a green product scorecard initiative. It aims at scoring our medicines’ environmental performance based on a systematic “Cradle-to-grave” lifecycle analysis – a recognized framework to assess environmental impacts. To improve our solutions’ score and decrease their impact on the planet, the ambition is to map and deploy opportunities for environmental footprint reduction when designing, developing, and producing. 

4. We compensate for any greenhouse gas emissions that cannot be eliminated in the short term 

 

Our commitment to aim for carbon neutrality by 2030 for the operations we directly control will be achieved through two mechanisms:

  • 80% of our time, effort and money will be invested in reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by changing the way we operate.
  • 20% will be dedicated to offsetting the short-term impact we cannot avoid via compensation programs, with multiple positive impacts on the planet and on the communities driving these projects.


We collaborate with CO2logic and the EcoMakala program and with WeForest in the Desa’a program

Want to know where we are regarding our CO2e target, please check our last data here

Read more about the other environmental targets we set for us

Conserving water

Reducing waste