December 15, 2021

Abdi ibrahim takes another important step toward sustainability

Abdi İbrahim Takes Another Important Step Toward Sustainability

Biodegradable Packaging Is A Go

Abdi İbrahim, Turkey’s leading pharma company, takes yet another important step toward its goal of becoming a carbon neutral company by 2030. To this end, the company which prioritizes sustainability in all its domestic and overseas activities, has signed an agreement with the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM) for the development of biodegradable polymers – a more sustainable and circular packaging type – to be used for the primary packaging of all our consumer health products.

Project to last 27 months, including production and testing

Under the agreement signed between Abdi İbrahim and the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM), all processes, including biodegradable packaging development, prototype production and testing to ensure the prototype packaging meets all the legal and technical criteria applied to the existing packaging of consumer health products, are to be completed in 27 months. The biodegradable polymer packaging materials that will be developed under the project are aimed to be used for the packaging of all the products in Abdi İbrahim's current consumer health products portfolio. As an outcome of the project, biodegradable packaging will be used for the first time in the consumer health products sector in Turkey.

“New dimension in global competition: low carbon economy”

Dr. M. Oğuzcan Bülbül, Public Relations and Corporate Communications Director at Abdi İbrahim, said: “Abdi İbrahim is engaged in many activities in line with the environmental, social and governance targets it has established for its HEAL 2030 sustainability strategy. Our most important goal in the environmental domain is to become a carbon neutral company by 2030”, adding “We are taking robust and determined steps toward becoming a carbon neutral company by 2030 in our desire to be part of the green transformation. The low-carbon economy is a new domain that has gained ground in both consumer preferences and in global competition in the global pharmaceutical sector, as is the case in other sectors. Within the framework of the European Green Deal, and the Circular Economy Action Plan aspect of this deal, we expect new regulations bringing radical change to be implemented in the upcoming period, driving further sustainability in plastic packaging, and popularizing the use of biodegradable products. As Abdi İbrahim, we are signatory to the Business World Plastics Initiative established by Global Compact Turkey, the Business Council for Sustainable Development Turkey and TÜSİAD. We are thus taking a proactive approach to the green transformation on a global level, especially in our reduction in the use of plastics. We continue to be one of the most conscientious and responsible companies in Turkey, with focus on the creation of the highest value in the environmental, social and governance areas for our shareholders, employees, society and the environment – in short, for a more liveable future.” Bülbül reflected that Abdi İbrahim is the only Turkish pharmaceutical company to complete the necessary lifecycle analyses required for the measurement of its carbon footprint at all stages of its business – from the procurement of raw materials to the production, use, end-of-life and disposal of its products – and has launched projects to reduce its carbon footprint at each stage of the value chain in line with the goals set out by the Paris Agreement. He continued, “The aim of Abdi İbrahim is to heal the future, while inspiring the Turkish pharmaceutical sector and other companies to prioritize sustainability”.

Abdi İbrahim continues to take determined steps on its journey toward sustainability

Abdi İbrahim regards its legacy to society and the world as a priority in its economic activities and focuses on sustainability in all its operations in Turkey and elsewhere. Abdi İbrahim’s headquarters and its Esenyurt Production Complex have been powered by renewable energy since January 1, 2020. Abdi İbrahim succeeded in scoring above the global average in its first year of reporting to the Carbon Disclosure Platform (CDP) in the categories of climate change and water security, and last month it prepared and made public its “Social and Economic Impact Report”. Abdi İbrahim is the only Turkish pharma company to have prepared such a report, and to sign the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which provides for carbon emission reduction targets, as well as the CEO Water Mandate – a United Nations Global Compact initiative.