Circular Economy & Waste Management

Sanofi pays particular attention to on-site waste management, so that we can categorize and identify waste generated by each process and then collect, sort, store, transport and treat each type of waste appropriately.

In this regard, we aim for a "zero-waste impact" target, as illustrated by our blister-free vaccines project. Sanofi commits to only selling vaccines in syringe packs, with no secondary PVC packing, by 2027. The second level in our waste hierarchy is to reduce waste generation at source, followed by a systematic examination of reuse and then recycling before resorting to any other form of waste disposal (such as incineration with or without thermal recovery). Landfill is only used as a last resort and must be subject to audit.

In compliance with regulation, before engaging new waste contractors, we thoroughly verify their qualifications, competence, and regulatory compliance for each class of waste. We have also implemented integrated, country-specific waste management approaches in regions with our largest industrial footprint or where potential synergies are greatest, such as France and the United States.

The most relevant waste streams of Sanofi, as part of the pharmaceutical industry, are used solvents (81.185 tons in 2024). This is notably due to their absolute quantities (23% of total waste). Some of our used solvents are treated on-site for reuse and are therefore not counted as recovered waste. In 2024, 58% of our solvents were regenerated and reintroduced into our industrial process. This avoided generating the same amount of waste.

Another significant waste stream results from the production of Heparin using pig mucosa. Recovering the biowaste from this intestinal mucous reduces impact over the value chain through the production of biomethane as an alternative to natural gas. This methanization process allows us to recover energy from over 99% of this biowaste.

Producing flu vaccines generates large amounts of egg waste. Depending on the manufacturing site and available technologies this biowaste is composted or used for methanization. Most of this waste stream can therefore be considered as recycled.

Sanofi has developed a comprehensive take-back system for post-consumer waste to ensure the responsible disposal and recycling of its products. An example is the returpen program in Denmark, where Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, Lilly and Merck have partnered to pioneer the world's first cross-industry solution for recycling materials from injection pens. The collaboration has been launched in Denmark, because of the existing recycling infrastructure in the country. Today, the four companies account for around 5.2 million injection pens in Denmark annually. This collaboration started on May 1st, 2023, and will help us to accelerate our commitments to improve the responsible and proper disposal of medical devices. Returpen is using pharmacies countrywide for the drop-off.

In France, RECYPEN is an industry collaboration with Sanofi, Eli Lilly, and DASTRI using pharmacies to collect medical injection devices in four pilot regions: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Grand Est, Hauts-de-France and Occitanie started July 1st, 2024.

As a part of our regulatory Extended Producer Responsibility, we also participate in national schemes to finance the collection and treatment of waste, like the Cyclamed scheme in France, and partner with campaigns such as “Return Unwanted Medicines” to motivate consumers in Australia to return unused or expired medicines to any pharmacy for proper disposal. To date over 600,000 kg of unwanted medicines have avoided landfill thanks to these efforts. These actions are further supported of take-back programs across the world.