Innovative pharmaceutical companies provide society with one of its most valued assets, significantly contributing to public health and well-being: medicines.
The primary goal of this sector is to improve people’s lives through biopharmaceutical innovation.
Moreover, recognizing the interconnectedness of health and environmental care, the pharmaceutical industry has long integrated sustainability principles into its daily operations. This aims to create a positive impact on both individual well-being and the planet.
To reflect this commitment and outline future challenges, Farmaindustria has published the report Sustainability in Figures: Social and Environmental Impact of the Pharmaceutical Industry, the first of its kind in Spain.
This document details the actions undertaken by pharmaceutical companies in Spain across three major areas: environmental impact, social impact, and governance—commonly referred to as ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria.
Leading Environmental Commitments
Specifically, the report highlights the pharmaceutical industry’s leadership in greenhouse gas emission reduction.
Globally, 80% of major pharmaceutical companies have committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, surpassing the targets set by the Paris Agreement. In Spain, many major companies aim to achieve carbon neutrality or net-zero emissions by 2030.
Energy efficiency in production facilities has been a priority for the sector in recent years. As a result, 70% of the energy consumed in medicine production plants in Spain is now guaranteed to come from renewable sources. These efforts have reduced waste generation by 15% in the last three years and decreased energy consumption per employee by over 8% in the same period.
Additionally, the pharmaceutical industry pioneered environmental initiatives in Spain, including Sigre, a medication lifecycle management system established over 20 years ago. Sigre, in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, drug distributors, and pharmacies, enables the collection and proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste.
The system relies on Sigre Points, accessible across nearly 22,000 pharmacies in Spain, providing the public with a user-friendly method to ensure the environmentally sound treatment of this waste.
Since Sigre’s launch in 2001, citizen participation has helped prevent the felling of at least 212,000 trees (equivalent to 12 Retiro Parks in Madrid) and avoided 90,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
Pharmaceutical companies lead in greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
A Benchmark in R&D and Gender Equality
Biopharmaceutical innovation contributes significantly to social progress. According to the report, investments in innovative medicines have been the primary driver of increased human life expectancy.
Over the last two decades, advancements in medicine have resulted in notable life expectancy gains. For example, in the first decade of this century, life expectancy in developed countries increased by 1.74 years, with 73% of this attributable to the positive effects of new medicines.
Notable recent improvements have been observed in survival and quality of life for conditions such as HIV, asthma, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, and rare diseases.
Economically, the pharmaceutical industry is a key driver of value, quality employment, and competitiveness in developed economies.
As a leader in R&D, the industry invests over €150 billion annually worldwide—a figure that has steadily grown over the past 25 years. In Spain, the pharmaceutical industry accounts for 19% of all industrial R&D investment. This leadership has positioned Spain as a global hub for clinical trials of new medicines, with around 170,000 participants benefiting from these trials.
The sector also stands out for offering quality employment: stable, skilled, and equitable. In 2023, the pharmaceutical industry directly employed over 56,000 people in Spain, and combined direct, indirect, and induced employment surpassed 270,000 jobs. Additionally, 96.4% of employment contracts in the industry are permanent—compared to the national average of 82.8%—and nearly 70% of employees hold advanced degrees, well above the national average of 46.3%.
The pharmaceutical industry is also a model of gender equality, with the smallest gender pay gap among all sectors in Spain.
Women constitute 56.1% of the workforce in innovative pharmaceutical companies, more than double the industrial average. Women hold 45.2% of senior management roles and nearly 25% of general management positions. These figures are significantly higher—more than double or triple—than those of companies listed on the IBEX 35 index.