Climate

Why climate action matters to Novartis

Rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, worsening air quality, and more frequent extreme weather events are already affecting human health. These challenges are influencing how diseases spread, increasing pressure on healthcare systems, and placing the greatest burden on communities least equipped to respond. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that climate-related impacts will cause an additional 250 000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050¹, while the World Economic Forum estimates a $1.1 trillion economic burden for healthcare systems to provide treatment for diseases caused by climate change by 2050².

For Novartis, this matters directly. Our purpose is to improve and extend lives. That includes understanding how a changing climate may shape future health needs, anticipating where disease burdens may grow, and building resilience into supply chains and healthcare systems.

At the same time, we must address our own environmental impact. The WHO estimates the healthcare sector to generate up to 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions³. At Novartis, we are committed to reducing the climate impact of our operations and value chain while continuing to deliver breakthrough innovation for patients.

What is Novartis climate ambition?

The Novartis climate ambition is to achieve net-zero GHG emissions across our value chain by 2040. To realize this ambition, we have set near- and long-term targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and consistent with the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C compared with pre-industrial levels:

1. Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 90% and absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions 42% by 2030, from a 2022 base year.
2. Maintain a minimum of 90% absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emission reductions from 2030 to 2040, and reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 90% by 2040, from a 2022 base year.

The Novartis Climate Transition plan supports our trajectory to net zero and is focused on: decarbonizing our operations, collaborating with suppliers to reduce supply-chain emissions, promoting low-carbon distribution and travel options, and embedding climate considerations into product innovation.

Decarbonizing our operations

We follow a mitigation hierarchy that prioritizes avoiding emissions through energy-efficiency programs, followed by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. Emissions that cannot be avoided or eliminated will be neutralized through high-quality carbon removal credits in line with our net-zero targets. See the latest Report on Nonfinancial Matters for performance against our climate targets.

Transitioning to net-zero by 2040 with a clear roadmap across the value chain

To reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, we reduce energy consumption by switching to efficient utility equipment, adopting new manufacturing technology solutions, and optimizing processes at our sites. We transition to renewable energy by using renewable electricity throughout our operations, adopting renewable thermal technologies (e.g. steam generated using renewable energy sources and electric boilers powered by renewable electricity) and transitioning to electric vehicles where feasible.

We also apply a shadow carbon price of USD 100 per metric ton of CO2e in decisions on capital expenditure over USD 20 million. The price is reviewed annually and is used to support our voluntary climate commitments.

This transition is also supported by site-level renewable energy initiatives. For example, at Schweizerhalle, a long-term solar electricity supply agreement signed in 2024 is expected to provide 1 GWh of electricity per year, while at Schaftenau, two photovoltaic systems installed in 2023 generate approximately 210 MWh of renewable electricity annually.

Read more in our Reporting Hub

Tackling value-chain emissions

Most of our greenhouse gas emissions occur outside our direct operations. More than 90% of our emissions originate outside our direct operations, with the largest share linked to purchased goods and services. Because of this, reducing emissions across our value chain is essential to achieving our net-zero ambition.

Collaborating with suppliers

Suppliers are a major source of Scope 3 GHG emissions. Our expectations are set out in our Third Party Code and in the environmental sustainability criteria included in supplier contracts. These criteria require suppliers to comply with environmental laws, reduce their environmental impact, set decarbonization targets, monitor and externally report their environmental performance, and engage with their own suppliers. Suppliers with contracts that include these criteria covered 97% of Scope 3 GHG emissions at the end of 2025. We are extending this to the remaining suppliers through our procurement process.

We support suppliers in reducing their emissions, including their transition to renewable energy and to more sustainable manufacturing processes for APIs and drug products, through initiatives such as solvent recovery and recycling and, where feasible, green chemistry principles. We also work with peers through organizations such as the Sustainable Markets Initiative and partnerships such as Energize to help improve the environmental performance of suppliers.
Our supplier engagement strategy also includes webinars, supplier playbooks, and roadmaps. We are mobilizing wider systemic change through our collaboration with organizations such as the Sustainable Markets Initiative and partnerships such as Energize for pharma supply chain innovation.

We are strengthening supply chain GHG emissions data transparency (and, in turn, our own reporting) in line with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development Partnership for Carbon Transparency framework. By inviting around 800 suppliers to submit product-level emissions data through the Siemens-based Mattermaps platform, Novartis is improving visibility across its supply chain and identifying emissions hotspots. This helps focus action in areas such as solvent recovery and reuse, sustainable manufacturing processes, and packaging optimization.

Promoting low-carbon distribution and travel

We are prioritizing lower-carbon freight options such as sea and rail and assisting suppliers to do the same by supporting the adoption of decarbonization strategies for logistics. We are also promoting efficient and lower-carbon business travel by raising awareness and providing education.

Embedding climate considerations into product innovation

We are integrating environmental sustainability considerations across the life cycle of our medicines – from R&D and product design, including raw material selection, through manufacturing, delivery, recovery, re-use and recycling. This involves considering circular economy, green chemistry and packaging and device optimization principles during the design process, incorporating life cycle assessments, and exploring opportunities to reduce resource use and waste.

Sustainable Product Design is integrated into our R&D processes to help identify opportunities to reduce the environmental footprint of medicines across their lifecycle. This includes considering environmental sustainability during product development, manufacturing, packaging and delivery, and using lifecycle assessments to better understand environmental hotspots and inform design decisions. Through this approach, Novartis aims to reduce the environmental impact of future products while continuing to meet patient and healthcare-system needs.

In 2024, Novartis received the My Green Lab Catalyst Award for our work to foster a culture of sustainability and reduce the environmental footprint of laboratory operations. The certification program is recognized by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign as a Breakthrough Initiative for the pharmaceutical sector.

We also hold the 2023 Terra Carta Seal by the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) in recognition of our Greener Clinical Trials program.

Read more about the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition

Understanding and responding to future health needs

While addressing our direct and indirect GHG emissions impact, we are deepening our understanding of how climate-related factors may affect disease burden, healthcare systems, and patient needs, particularly those in vulnerable communities; and what this means for our medicines, operations, and long-term business resilience.

We know that heat and cold extremes add strain to the heart and kidneys with increased risk of strokes and kidney failure, particularly among vulnerable groups. Temperature extremes and flooding can also change the behavior of disease vectors such as mosquitoes; while air pollution can irritate the lungs and inflame the cardiovascular system.

An internal scenario analysis shows the Novartis portfolio to have strong relevance for diseases that, according to the WHO⁴,  are sensitive to the impacts of climate change, including chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, non-small cell lung cancer, diarrheal diseases and renal disease, as well as malaria and neglected tropical diseases such as dengue fever and leishmaniasis. Novartis continues to hold one of the largest pipelines of treatments for malaria and neglected tropical diseases, according to the Access to Medicine Index⁵.

Read more about our efforts in Global Health