Zeb Ahmed, CEO of BES - the specialist in design and construction of cGMP compliant pharmaceutical facilities, discusses the growing demand for sustainable built assets, why the trend is escalating and what can be done to enhance sustainability.
While Part L building regulations have been driving improvement in the residential and commercial sectors for some time, historically the pharmaceutical sector has accepted that high energy use is inevitable. From R&D, through to manufacture, processing, packaging and storage, the industry has accepted that, in order to achieve high levels of cleanliness, efficiency and compliance, built assets had to be heavily serviced. Indeed, many facilities have been over specified in the name of futureproofing and resilience.
But times are changing. As the climate crisis escalates, so too does scrutiny on how companies of all sizes will do what they can to address the problem. The government has set a date of 2050 for the UK to become net carbon neutral – just 28 years away – and the pharmaceutical supply chain is under just as much pressure as any other sector to set achievable goals and measure success in milestones along the route map to carbon zero.