Lilly Sustainability Report: Scope 1,2 Emissions Fall, Scope 3 Rise

by | Feb 17, 2012

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Pharmaceuticals firm Eli Lilly and Company achieved a three percent reduction in its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions from 2009 to 2010, but its Scope 3 emissions rose 11 percent over the same time period, according to the company’s 2010 corporate responsibility report.

In 2010 the company released 1,620,000 metric tons of CO2e compared with 1,670,000 tons of CO2e in 2009.  Eight energy saving projects were enacted at the company’s Clinton, Ind., facility in 2010, including evaporator process changes and boiler efficiency enhancements. These projects saved 27 million kWh during the year equivalent to 27 million metric tons of CO2e, and nearly 9 percent of the site’s energy use.

Lilly’s Scope 3 emissions increased from 204,000 metric tons of CO2e in 2009 to 227,000 in 2010. While emissions from employee commuting fell from 76,000 metric tons of CO2e in 2009, to 72,000 in 2010, representing a five percent drop, employee business travel and outsourced product transportation and distribution rose 9,000 metric tons, or 14 percent, and 4,000 metric tons, 10 percent, respectively, year-on-year. Lilly says it is “continuing to refine” its approach to Scope 3 emissions.

Company-wide, energy intensity fell when measured against both square footage and revenue. In 2010 Lilly’s energy intensity was 520 BTUs per square foot, down from 543 BTUs per square foot in 2009, a decrease of over 4 percent. The company recorded energy intensity per dollar of revenue of 485 BTUs in 2010, compared to 517 BTUs per million dollars of revenue in 2009 – a 6.5 percent reduction.

Overall, the company has improved energy efficiency by more than 12 percent, compared to 2007, and reduced corresponding greenhouse gas emissions by more than 9 percent over the same time period.

The company’s water intake increased negligibly from 13.2 billion liters in 2009 to 13.3 billion liters in 2010. Having met its 2013 target of a 30 percent reduction of its water use compared to 2007 levels in 2009, Lilly’s progress on water reduction appears to have stalled in 2010. But the company set a new target of a further reduction of 5 percent in absolute terms by 2013 compared to 2010 levels. Lilly says that meeting the new goal will be challenging, as it is facing production increases that will elevate water intake rates.

A reverse osmosis unit installed at Lilly’s Fegersheim, France, facility saved the company 93 million liters of water in 2010, equivalent to 16 percent of the site’s intake. Following an initial investment of $228,000, yearly financial benefits are estimated at $87,000, the report says.

In 2010, Lilly sent 15,900 metric tons of waste to landfill, a rise just shy of 7.5 percent from the 14,800 metric tons in 2009 and a decrease of 50 percent compared to 2007.

Echoing the situation with the water intake, Lilly met its 2013 waste to landfill goal of a 50 percent reduction against 2007 levels last year. In 2010 the company established a new goal to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by 20 percent, against a 2010 baseline. The company’s stated overall goal is to eventually run a zero waste-to-landfill operation.

Lilly’s site in Carolina, Puerto Rico, has dramatically increased its recycling rate in recent years, from 11 percent in 2007 to 84 percent in 2010. The plant now recycles almost 100 percent of its waste acetonitrile, a solvent commonly used in insu­lin production. The facility has installed a range of other recycling initiatives, including placing recycling stations in offices and work areas and reusing shipping materials. Recycling initiatives have saved the plant $1.3 million annually, the report says.

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