Novo-Nordisk-AR-2012-en

14 ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND RESULTS 2012
Environmental
performance
As production and sales continue to grow,
it becomes increasingly challenging to
meet the company’s long-term aspiration
to keep minimising the total environmental
impact. The environmental policy covers
the entire value chain from molecule
to patient. In addition to ensuring
compliance and sound management
practices in accordance with ISO 14001,
efforts include process optimisations in
production and innovation projects in
partnership with suppliers, healthcare
providers and local communities.
Resources
Energy consumed for production at the
company’s 13 production sites in 2012
amounted to 2,433,000 GJ, while water
consumption increased to 2,475,000 m 3 .
This is directly linked to the increased
production volume output. While all
electricity supplies in Denmark are based
on renewable energy, supplies of heating
and steam for the company’s largest
production site in Kalundborg, Denmark,
Long-term environmental targets
2012 performance against long-term environmental targets
Novo Nordisk has chosen three long-term environmental targets to
support long-term financial performance, balancing responsibility
with profitability, with the aim of creating sustainable value for
shareholders and other stakeholders. The environmental targets are
ambitious and reflect the aspiration to produce more with less and
continuously reduce impacts on the environment: to curb average
Energy consumption
Target 1
Realised
1,000,000 GJ
5
4
3
2
1
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
1. From 2007 to 2011 the target was set as an accumulated reduction over four years from a 2007 baseline.
NOVO NORDISK ANNUAL REPORT 2012
still rely on fossil fuels. Production increases
at the Kalundborg site are therefore
reflected as a negative trend in the total
environmental performance, despite
ongoing process optimisation, which has
improved environmental impact. Around
half of Novo Nordisk’s direct environmental
footprint derives from the production site
in Kalundborg. A partnership initiative
to secure supplies of district heating
and steam based on biological waste –
modelled on the long-standing successful
Symbiosis project – will, if successful,
result in a reduced carbon footprint from
consumption of district heating and steam.
Emissions and waste
CO 2 emissions related to production
increased by 30% in 2012 compared
with 2011. Most of the increase is
due to the phase-in of a new filling
plant in Tianjin, China. The remaining
increase is a consequence of the larger
production volume in Kalundborg. Since
2007, significant reductions have been
Water consumption
Target 1
Realised
1,000,000 m 3
5
4
3
2
1
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
achieved as a result of energy savings
at all production sites and, in particular,
the conversion to renewable energy for
electricity supplies in Denmark. Initiatives to
optimise resource utilisation, particularly in
Kalundborg, partly counter the increasing
need arising from production growth.
Options for increasing the use of renewable
energy in China, Denmark and the US are
being explored.
Reducing waste is a key element of the
company’s environmental strategy.
In 2012 the total volume of waste doubled
to 82,802 tons from 41,376 tons in 2011,
as a result of increased production volumes
and a reclassification, effective since
the end of 2011, of organic production
waste (biomass). The majority of the
waste, 58,193 tons, is biomass from the
fermentation process in Kalundborg. The
biomass was previously used for animal
feed but is now recovered for biogas
production. As a result, the recycling rate
is high – 84% in 2012 – and only 5% and
1% respectively are disposed of as special
waste and landfill.
annual increases in energy to 3% and average annual increases in
water consumption to 5%, and to achieve an absolute reduction in
CO 2 emissions of 10% by 2014, compared with the 2004 baseline.
The CO 2 emissions target is expected to be achieved. Performance
against the targets for energy and water consumption is as
projected.
CO 2 emissions from
energy consumption
300
240
Target (2014)
Realised
1,000 tons
180
120
60
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012