Life Cycle Management
in the Pharmaceutical Industry Using
an Applicable and Robust LCA-Based
Environmental Sustainability
Assessment Approach
Yasmine Emara, Marc-William Siegert, Annekatrin Lehmann
and Matthias Finkbeiner
Abstract Despite growing concerns over the environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals, the use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) within the pharma-sector
remains quite fragmentary. The aim of this paper is to present gaps and challenges,
impeding a full adoption of LCA in the pharma-sector. A review of existing
pharma-LCAs revealed a considerable degree of inconsistency and inhomogeneity
in their methodological choices, highlighting the need for product category rules
(PCRs) for the pharmaceutical industry to harmonize and facilitate the future use of
LCA in that sector. Additionally, existing life cycle impact assessment (LCIA)
methods fail to model several pharma-specific impact pathways (e.g. endocrine
disruption). Preliminary thoughts on the development of pharma-PCRs and the
inclusion of pharma-specific impact pathways into LCIA are presented, providing
important stimulus for further research.
1 Introduction
A global rise in pharmaceutical consumption has come hand in hand with a parallel
surge in environmental contamination with active pharmaceutical ingredients
(APIs), their metabolites and transformation products [1, 2]. The eco-toxicological
concerns regarding the presence of pharmaceuticals in surface waters, together with
the pharmaceutical industry’s resource- and energy-intensive environmental profile,
have prompted the sector to increasingly integrate green chemistry and green
engineering principles into its production processes [3–6].
Despite some drug companies recognizing the merits of utilizing Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) to measure their progress towards ‘greener’ production, LCAs
Y. Emara (&) Á M.-W. Siegert Á A. Lehmann Á M. Finkbeiner
Chair of Sustainable Engineering, Institute of Environmental Technology,
Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
e-mail: y.emara@tu-berlin.de
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_9
79
in the Pharmaceutical Industry Using
an Applicable and Robust LCA-Based
Environmental Sustainability
Assessment Approach
Yasmine Emara, Marc-William Siegert, Annekatrin Lehmann
and Matthias Finkbeiner
Abstract Despite growing concerns over the environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals, the use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) within the pharma-sector
remains quite fragmentary. The aim of this paper is to present gaps and challenges,
impeding a full adoption of LCA in the pharma-sector. A review of existing
pharma-LCAs revealed a considerable degree of inconsistency and inhomogeneity
in their methodological choices, highlighting the need for product category rules
(PCRs) for the pharmaceutical industry to harmonize and facilitate the future use of
LCA in that sector. Additionally, existing life cycle impact assessment (LCIA)
methods fail to model several pharma-specific impact pathways (e.g. endocrine
disruption). Preliminary thoughts on the development of pharma-PCRs and the
inclusion of pharma-specific impact pathways into LCIA are presented, providing
important stimulus for further research.
1 Introduction
A global rise in pharmaceutical consumption has come hand in hand with a parallel
surge in environmental contamination with active pharmaceutical ingredients
(APIs), their metabolites and transformation products [1, 2]. The eco-toxicological
concerns regarding the presence of pharmaceuticals in surface waters, together with
the pharmaceutical industry’s resource- and energy-intensive environmental profile,
have prompted the sector to increasingly integrate green chemistry and green
engineering principles into its production processes [3–6].
Despite some drug companies recognizing the merits of utilizing Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) to measure their progress towards ‘greener’ production, LCAs
Y. Emara (&) Á M.-W. Siegert Á A. Lehmann Á M. Finkbeiner
Chair of Sustainable Engineering, Institute of Environmental Technology,
Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
e-mail: y.emara@tu-berlin.de
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_9
79