We are a certified B Corp^®

What does it mean to be B Corp Certified?

B Corp is an ethical and eco-conscious certification for businesses, created by the non-profit B Lab. The goal of B Corp certification is to bring like-minded businesses together in a global movement to redefine business as a force for good^TM. All B Corp companies share a common characteristic – to have their actions as focused on their impact on society and the environment as they are on commercial success.

As a B Corp, we’re counted among more than 7000 businesses across 90 countries including Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia, The Body Shop, and TOMS.¹ Collectively, we hope to motivate a shift to a more inclusive, fair and regenerative economy for future generations.

How did we become a B Corp

Becoming B Corp certified is no easy task. To be accepted as a B Corp, we completed a rigorous, independent assessment of our business model and daily operations to review the impact of our activities on our workers, customers, local community, and the environment.²

We worked collaboratively with B Lab to improve our legal governing documents and activities in line with B Corp’s ambitious standards and, since 2019, we have been a certified B Corp.

We are regularly reassessed to ensure we continue to meet B Corp standards and improve our scores year after year to maintain the certification.³

Our B Corp certification gives us a robust, independent framework to make sure our words and intentions become tangible actions. It pushes us to think beyond profits when creating our business strategies, internal processes and activities. Our B Corp governance means any decision our board of directors makes needs to take into account the wider impact it may have on people, the planet, and society as a whole.

What are we doing as a B Corp in the UK?

A number of initiatives and programmes helped us to become a B Corp, a status we intend to maintain year after year. You can read more about some of our action areas below:

• We are taking action on climate change

Environmental action is nothing new to us. We were one of the first pharmaceutical companies to introduce a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-free inhaler.⁴

We are committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2035,^5,6 well ahead of the NHS target of 2045,⁷ and the UK national target of 2050.⁸

As part of our commitment, we have developed an extensive carbon reduction plan that covers scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.^5,6

Our plans include:^5,6

• • transitioning to a carbon minimal inhaler following €350 million investment in 2019
  • moving to renewable energy at all our sites
  • progressing the electrification of our car fleet
  • working with our value chain to reduce indirect emissions
  • installing new technology at manufacturing sites that aims to capture leaked propellant.

This means Chiesi’s entire UK portfolio of respiratory medicines is now certified carbon neutral.

Our activities are independently reviewed through the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)⁹ and are designed to align with NHS targets.⁷ They will also be reported annually as part of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).¹⁰

• We invest in our people

As a B Corp, the welfare of everyone we interact with is extremely important to us. We aim to promote trust, fairness, accountability and, above all, transparency within our company.

Our Code of Interdependence sets out these values as standards for all partners we work with across our supply chain too.¹¹

Environmental accountability and positive community action are an integral part of each employee’s annual objectives. We are especially proud of our UK colleagues who give so much of their time volunteering in the communities they live and work in. Our UK colleagues contribute more than 170 hours of their time every week to charitable causes, amassing more than 1,600 days of support in the last few years alone.¹²

• We plan for the future

We are investing in solutions to the challenges the NHS and patients will face today, and tomorrow.

We are working with the NHS to deliver more inhaler recycling schemes, as well as investigating alternatives to the current plastics we use, so we can contribute to a more sustainable future in respiratory care.^5,13,14

We recognise the need to find solutions beyond medicines to address complex health needs and actively support respiratory healthcare professionals and patients with a broad range of materials and services.

Approximately 20% of all our revenue goes back into research and development to support treatment innovation, alongside sustaining the supply of existing Chiesi medicines for your patients.¹⁵

• We are speaking up for healthcare

We believe pharmaceutical companies can thrive in a way that is both sustainable and socially responsible. Our commitment to B Corp principles has helped us to take practical steps to be the change we want to see. Through our actions, we also hope to inspire others in our industry to harness the power of business to deliver positive changes in healthcare for everyone.^6,16

Does being a B Corp actually change anything?

Being a B Corp is not an empty promise – it is a commitment to make continual improvements to our societal and environmental impact each year. We believe all healthcare companies should hold themselves to B Corp standards, because to truly improve the health of patients, we also need to protect the health of the planet and wider society too.