Healthy planet
A healthy planet is a prerequisite for human health and well-being
Many of the health problems we face today can be directly linked to our impact on the environment and our lifestyle, and these two factors are often closely interrelated.
For a company like BioGaia, whose mission is to promote better health, it is therefore a natural part of our operations to strive for a healthier planet. BioGaia’s Code of Conduct emphasizes the importance of always including environmental aspects in the decision-making process.
Climate impact
We want to take responsibility and work on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, something that our stakeholders clearly demand and expect. Through proactive efforts to reduce our climate impact, we not only strengthen our resilience but also reduce our costs.
It is important that we are aware of, and actively manage, the risks that accompany climate change. These risks relate to changes in physical conditions, such as extreme weather events and rising sea levels, which could potentially damage our infrastructure. In parallel, it is important to prepare for new regulations and take advantage of the rising demand for sustainable products.
Actively managing these risks and leveraging opportunities that arise in connection with the climate transition are therefore essential to ensure our long-term sustainability and economic stability and thereby strengthen our resilience.
Our sustainability areas
Our commitment to a healthier planet is pursued primarily in three sustainability areas:
- Sustainable packaging
- Sustainable raw materials
- Sustainable transportation
Sustainable packaging
Offering sustainable packaging solutions is necessary to reduce climate impact, adapt to future regulations, maintain confidence and avoid cost increases.
According to our climate calculations, packaging (manufacturing and materials) accounts for 10–15 percent of the total climate emissions1. Furthermore, additional negative impacts may arise, particularly if the packaging is not properly dealt with during waste management. To minimize the environmental impact of the packaging, it is important for BioGaia to choose packaging solutions that have as little impact on the environment as possible – both during manufacturing and at end-of-use.
Our strategy to reduce packaging’s environmental impact is based on four overall objectives:
- By 2025, all paper packaging used in our production will be certified from responsibly managed forests or made of verified recycled materials.
- BioGaia aims to only use recyclable or biodegradable packaging by 2030.
- BioGaia aims to identify new packaging solutions that reduce our climate impact per dose and prioritize packaging solutions that minimize environmental impact.
- Sustainability aspects are to be continuously assessed in product development projects and in the procurement of packaging solutions.
1) The data is based on sales. Waste during production is not included. Data includes primary and secondary packaging as well as packaging used in intermediate processes.
Sustainable raw materials
Our climate estimations show that the manufacturing of raw materials accounts for approximately 10 percent of BioGaia’s total emissions. In addition, there are other potential negative impacts from the manufacturing process that must be addressed, such as contribution to deforestation, a reduction in biodiversity, human rights violations and/or indecent working conditions. It is therefore imperative for BioGaia to select ingredients with less environmental impact and to carefully evaluate and make relevant demands on its suppliers and sub-suppliers of ingredients. BioGaia shall not use suppliers that disregard environmental impact or human rights.
Sustainable transportation
By proactively reducing our emissions from transportation, BioGaia can contribute not only to a sustainable future but can also increase cost savings and efficiency. A strategy that focuses on minimizing dependence on fossil fuels increases our resilience to price fluctuations and may also have a positive impact on our brand.
According to our climate projections, transportation accounts for the largest share of our climate footprint, with more than 70 percent of BioGaia’s total emissions. 82 percent of these are linked to transportation of products to distribution partners, where transportation to our subsidiaries accounts for 12 percent. The remaining 18 percent of transport emissions are from business travel.
Sustainability report
Read more about how we work for a healthy planet in our latest sustainability report.