Sustainability

Sustainable sourcing, simplified.

Sustainability is a priority for NCC

“At NCC, we strive to integrate the environmental and societal implications of our operations into our daily decision-making. To achieve this, we have established robust standards and processes across our international network. We have fostered a culture of sustainability awareness among our employees and engaged with partners to establish sustainable products and practises. Sustainability is a fundamental principle of NCC’s everyday work and corporate culture.”
Alan Looney, Managing Director, NCC

The Importance of Sustainable Sourcing

All industries, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, face increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future. While internal changes can reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions, a significant portion of a pharmaceutical manufacturers’ emissions are linked to Scope 3 activities, particularly the upstream production of raw materials.
On average, 70%1 of a pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical company’s carbon emissions originate from the manufacturing of raw materials procured for their own processes. This highlights the critical importance of sustainable sourcing in achieving significant emission reductions
1Sumudu Dehipawala, Ellie Goldman, Emily Hwang, Prem Shah, Ayushi Shroff, and Matthew O’Hara, The pharmaceutical industry’s carbon footprint and current mitigation strategies: A literature review, Trinity Life Sciences, August 16, 2023.

NCC’s Role in Sustainable Sourcing

By strategically partnering with NCC, companies across the various sectors we serve can identify and procure alternative sustainable raw materials that align with their sustainability plan and offer a cost effective alternative or complement to capital investment in reconfiguring energy supplies and production processes to reduce scope 3 emissions. Our services include:
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    Supplier identification and evaluation: We identify and assess suppliers to ensure they adhere to sustainable and ethical practices.
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    Product sourcing: We procure sustainable raw materials that meet specific requirements and quality standards.
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    Sustainability consulting: Our experienced team provides guidance on sustainable sourcing strategies and helps develop roadmaps to reduce carbon footprints.

Sustainable Product Portfolio

Our expertise in sustainable sourcing spans multiple industries. Key products include:
  • Pharmaceutical: green or bio-based solvents. Click here for more information
  • Biopharmaceutical: naturally derived raw materials, and solvents manufactured to have very low volatile residue to extend life of chromatography columns – reducing outlay and waste. Click here for more information.
  • Medical Polymers: advanced bio-based polymers derived from renewable feedstock (in conjunction with Arkema). Click here for more information.
  • Food Ingredients: plant-based proteins, sugar replacements, natural flavours and organic ingredients. Click here for more information.
Want to know more? Contact us about our sustainable product offering.

Contact NCC

Our Sustainability Journey

NCC is committed to sustainable value creation for our customers.  Key initiatives and milestones to date include:
Emission Reduction & Collation: We continue to progress our carbon footprint measurement, with Scope 1 calculated and Scope 2 & 3 collation ongoing. We are in the process of onboarding a software tool to automate this emission collation and give us and our customers access to accurate and timely carbon footprint data of products and services supplied by NCC. We are also transitioning our company vehicle to electric vehicles to reduce our direct carbon footprint, with 80% transitioned to date.
Sustainable Product Offering: We have conducted a thorough risk assessment of our suppliers culminating in the circulation of a sustainability questionnaire to key suppliers including hauliers to collate information on their own sustainability initiatives. This equips us with the information to promote the sustainable benefits of our existing business partners’ products and services to our customers.
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): In preparation for the upcoming CSRD reporting we have formed a sustainability team led by our Chief Sustainability Officer Rory Groves. In addition, we have onboarded a third party sustainability expert to help guide our sustainability reporting and strategy.
Schemes: We are independently assessed by Ecovadis (our current rating is bronze, NCC is in the top 35% of companies assessed) & SQAS and are a signatory of Operation Clean Sweep. See our Quality & Compliance page for more information.

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