Greenhouse gas reduction
What is greenhouse gas reduction at AstraZeneca?
Company operations, such as manufacturing and transportation, emit GHGs including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), contributing to climate change. Emissions from product use are discussed in Product environmental stewardship, and we account for this emissions source alongside our entire value chain GHG footprint.
Our approach
In 2020, we launched Ambition Zero Carbon, committing to become zero carbon by 2025 across our operations (sites and fleet) without carbon credits, and carbon negative in our value chain by 2030. Our GHG targets exceed the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) reductions required to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement. For Scope 1 and 2, the SBTi would have us at a 42% reduction by 2025. In 2020, we achieved a 60% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 and are on track to achieve a 100% reduction by 2025. A cross-functional Governance Group was launched to execute our climate strategy. This committee is comprised of our CEO, CFO, the EVP, Sustainability and Chief Compliance Officer, and the EVP, Operations and IT. This group demonstrates executive level accountability for delivering Ambition Zero Carbon.
There is a clear link between energy consumption and GHG emissions. We manage both in consideration of the other. We use the World Resources Institute GHG Protocol guidance for Scopes 1, 2, and 3 to identify and measure our emissions and we use the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) GHG hierarchy approach1 to prioritise our actions. We are working to gain transparency on our greatest source of emissions, Scope 3, which are emissions from our value chain. We are committed to using our influence and knowledge to mobilise our extensive global supply chain to reduce their GHG emissions. See more in Responsible supply chain.
We also seek ways to increase our climate resilience. Our approach to manage the physical and transitional risks and opportunities presented by climate change aims to align with the TCFD framework. See the TCFD disclosure for more information here.
Our key targets and progress
