Keep Water Clean

Imagining a planet without potable water means imagining a planet without life. Boehringer Ingelheim is aware of that yet needs water to produce potentially life-saving medicines. To ensure that the production of medical products doesn’t compromise our environment, the initiative Clean Water was launched in 2011 as part of the Be Green program. Its members hail from various departments and are determined to keep the water in the communities that Boehringer Ingelheim operates in clean.

Reducing the concentration of active pharmaceutical ingredients

During the production of medicines, a very small percentage of pharmaceutical ingredients can find its way into water streams. “What many people don’t know is that the concentration is already so low, I it is absolutely safe enough to drink this water,” says Dr. Reinhold Maeck, Head of Regulatory Intelligence at Boehringer Ingelheim and initiative lead of Clean Water. Nevertheless, he and his Clean Water teammates aren’t satisfied yet. “We want to make sure that not even the tiniest algae are affected, but we want to go one step further and find ways to further reduce the API concentration,” stresses Maeck.

Taking action now

As part of Boehringer Ingelheim’s “Sustainable Development - For Generations” framework the Clean Water initiative is one of many other initiatives within the pillar “More Green” contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). By closely monitoring production patterns in terms of water usage, Clean Water aim to:

• serve the needs of communities ensuring the availability of clean water
• establish a resilient infrastructure
• keep communities safe, by combatting antimicrobial resistance due to water pollution
• maintain sustainable production and consumption patterns

 “We feel responsible for the communities we operate in and are respectful of our resources,” says Ingo Weiss, co-founder of the Be Green program. “Representatives of Clean Water know that clean water equals healthy people and animals! We rather take ownership of Boehringer Ingelheim’s decisions and actions around water and push for the optimal outcome – going far beyond compliance and regulatory limit values.”

Strong  Partnerships

Boehringer Ingelheim not only closely monitors its own wastewater; it is also part of the PSCI (Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative) and AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance). Both organizations bring together pharmaceutical companies in their quest to minimize traces of pharmaceuticals in wastewater. Collaborating with other experts is a key element of Boehringer Ingelheim’s sustainable strategies to create more impact through collective action. “It already has a great impact when a globally operating company like Boehringer Ingelheim closely monitors its water usage. Now imagine 40 companies the same size as ours working together and pushing each other to do better. The positive effect is multiplied,” says Maeck.

Currently, Boehringer Ingelheim is among those companies with the lowest levels of pharmaceutical residues in their wastewater – something it could only achieve by closely monitoring its own production processes. While many businesses are only green on paper, members of Clean Water want to ensure that the entire production process is sustainable. Accordingly, they also regularly audit processes within their supply chain. “We demand a lot from our suppliers. Keeping production environmentally friendly requires more time and effort. But we’re ready to invest more to ensure that every aspect of the production of our medicines is ecological,” stresses Maeck.

Various approaches, one team spirit

In summary, Clean Water pursues various approaches to keeping natural water sources clean, e.g. exploring how to reduce the API concentration, participating in two impactful alliances, and conducting regular audits. But the most important aspect still hasn’t been mentioned: the people working at Boehringer Ingelheim!

“Colleagues who are involved in Clean Water have changed for good,” says Maeck. He himself discovered a new sense of purpose when he saw how his work changed many processes for the better. “I’m glad to work for a company that recognizes the importance of keeping water clean and thus our environment intact.” While medicines become more and more effective, the Clean Water team ensures that at the same time, natural water resources will remain a source of life for generations to come.

The Clean Water Team thus incorporates the company’s principles of Accountability, Agility and Intrapreneurship: They identified the topic of pharmaceutical traces in water and decided that actions to combat them could be improved even further. Together they want to ensure that water in proximity to sites of Boehringer Ingelheim remains potable and safe.

Details on metrics are provided in the chapter Performance indicators.