MATT BROCKWELL1, DAVINA NAIDOO2

1. Carbon Trust, Pharma & Chemicals Technical Lead, Senior Associate, London, United Kingdom
2.Carbon Trust, Manager, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

This article aims to inform chemical and pharmaceutical companies on how to measure, reduce and communicate greenhouse gas emissions effectively. The chemical and pharmaceutical industries contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon footprinting and Net Zero aligned target setting is key to reducing emissions and costs. Gaining an in-depth understanding of your emissions hotspots directly from your company, and indirectly in the value chain, is critical to identify which areas to implement emissions reductions. Additionally, developing a strategy aligned with a Net Zero trajectory is crucial to communicate the impact of the companies work in a clear and transparent way.

The chemical sector is a significant source of carbon emissions. As of 2022, it is responsible for 935 million metric tons of CO2 annually, or 2% of total global emissions, making it the third largest emitting sector. Half of the sector’s energy input is consumed as feedstock (fuel used as a raw material rather than a source of energy). Indeed, it is the largest industrial energy consumer and the largest consumer of oil, gas, and coal raw materials of all the industrial sectors.
95% of all manufactured products rely on chemicals in one way or another, making for a hugely diverse value chain in the chemical sector. More than 80% of chemicals are sold to other industries and go through multiple transformations in various value chains before reaching the end-user. An example of this is the pharmaceutical industry (1).
The chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors face many common and unique challenges to decarbonisation, with the chemical sector needing to cut approximately 186 million tons of annual GHG emissions over the next three decades (2). The high energy intensity of production processes in both sectors necessitates significant heat and power to drive chemical r ...