Sustainable Pharmacy: adopt environmentally friendly practices!

A sustainable pharmacy is a pharmacy that offers its users a sense of involvement in a global cause. An attitude that allows you to stand out from your competitors, generating trust and identification. After all, your pharmacy's reputation doesn't just depend on the quality of your products, services or promotional campaigns. Find out everything in this article!

1- Follow the PGEU guidelines

With a generation of users who are highly informed and aware of the impact of their actions on the environment, no brand, regardless of its size, can ignore these issues. In fact, big names in the pharmaceutical industry are now starting to adopt a “green stance”, becoming aware of their impact on society and the environment.

In 2019, thePharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU)presented a document with a series of “environmentally friendly” recommendations aimed at the more than 160,000 pharmacies that are part of the group. Among them are actions such as:

• Promote more environmentally friendly medicine production, prioritizing manufacturers that comply with environmental guidelines;
• Encourage the distribution of medicines in the right quantity to avoid waste;
• Fund research into the potential negative impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment;

In this document, the contribution of Portugal and Portuguese pharmacies to safeguarding environmental health and the safety of future generations is presented: the Campaign of the Order of Pharmacists “Use of Medicine – We are All Responsible", deserving of the FIP 2016 Health Promotion Campaign Award. An awareness campaign that aimed to “alert the population, promote good practices and debate the issue of responsible use of medicine”.

Therefore, an effective and proven way to establish yourself as a sustainable pharmacy is to build your own community and inform your users of both the importance of sustainable development and conscious consumption.

2 – Sorting and reusing waste

Every year, around 300 million tons of plastic are deposited in landfills, releasing toxic substances into the atmosphere. Now, an obvious way for pharmacies to get involved in environmental issues is to promote screening and reuse of packaging and pharmaceutical products. Therefore, in addition to installing boxes for collecting out-of-date packaging or medicines, some European pharmacies are now starting to sell cosmetic and dermatological products in bulk. An example of this is the initiative “Zero Waste”, promoted by the groupPierre Fabre.

Since 2022, the group has been testing the effectiveness of bulk dispensers in the marketing of its products. Instead of having classic product packaging on pharmacy shelves, the company makes refillable lotion containers and a kind of “wooden cabinet that looks a lot like a coffee machine” available to its distributors.

After the first purchase, users must refill the container, contributing to reducing the consumption and production of plastic in the cosmetic and dermocosmetic industry. According to the testimony ofMarie Chenal, consumer experience manager at Pierre-Fabre,"This experience has been very pleasing to consumers. Once convinced, they return with their bottle to the pharmacy to fill the container again. After all, the best waste is the one that is not produced."

Initiatives like this are effective ways of involving your users in the cause, while promoting your products and services and working on your brand awareness, asserting yourself as a true “sustainable pharmacy”.

3 – Bet on dematerialization

The business world and the public sphere are undergoing violent changes, seeking to adapt to new directives, through the dematerialization of management processes.

Among the examples of actions to encourage the dematerialization of processes, specifically in pharmacies, is the well-known “Paperless recipe”. An initiative promoted by SPNS (Shared Services of the Ministry of Health), in force since 2015, which aimed to “gradually replace paper prescriptions”, limiting data processing to a secure and centralized electronic circuit.

The truth is that more and more software houses are offering solutions that enable the total dematerialization of accounting data and user-related information to reduce the need to print documents on paper. The adoption of this type of solutions in pharmacies not only allowsstreamline management processes, but also translates into an important incentive to reduce waste.

4 – Sustainable rehabilitation

Naturally, a sustainable pharmacy is also a proactive pharmacy. As we have seen, your involvement in environmental issues is undoubtedly an important factor in growing your brand awareness and reputation. However, also through digital transformation and energy efficiency, the pharmacy can integrate ecological principles into its daily activities.

Adapting the pharmacy infrastructure, in order to obtain significant savings in resources and energy, is an example of this. Small adjustments such as investing in quality thermal insulation (such as double glazing or a new ventilation system) or installing solar panels to generate electricity from a renewable source are actions that can reduce your pharmacy's carbon footprint.

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