New sustainability report outlines performance across climate, equality, ethics, and safety in pharma glass manufacturing

SGD Pharma has released its 2024 Sustainability Report, highlighting progress in reducing emissions, improving employee wellbeing, and promoting ethical business practices across its global operations.

The company reported a Platinum EcoVadis score of 87/100, placing it in the top 1% of glass manufacturers worldwide. It also secured B and B– ratings in the CDP’s Climate Change and Water Security programmes, respectively.

A key milestone in the report is the approval of new targets by the Science Based Targets initiative, including a 42% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 — up from the previously stated 35%. The company also aims to cut Scope 3 emissions by 25% within the same timeframe.

“We have decided to lead the decarbonization of the pharma glass industry,” said Olivier Rousseau, CEO. “We’ve already made significant steps towards achieving these targets across our global manufacturing plants. We look forward to further increasing the share of renewable energy in our operations to reduce SGD Pharma’s carbon footprint further.”

The company cited recent upgrades including a fully electric furnace and oxy-fuel combustion system at its Saint-Quentin-Lamotte facility in France, and a major rebuild to improve energy efficiency at its Zhanjiang site in China.

This year’s report is the first to voluntarily align with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), following a Double Materiality Assessment carried out in 2024. The evaluation covered the company’s entire value chain and informed updates to its decarbonization strategy, risk management, and governance model.

Social performance was another focus. SGD Pharma achieved 1,000 accident-free days at its Zhanjiang facility, planted 10,000 mangrove trees in China, and implemented a living wage assessment across all sites. A global employee engagement survey, Your Voice, was launched in France, Germany, China and India.

The report also details efforts to promote gender equity, including participation in the He for She campaign in China and alignment with the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. A company-wide management training programme is now active in all locations to support staff development.

To address supply chain ethics and sustainability, the company held a Europe Supplier Day with nearly 100 industry stakeholders and launched a global anti-corruption risk mapping system.

SGD Pharma continues to support the UN Global Compact for a fifth consecutive year, aligning its CSR efforts with the ten core principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.