Where cuts are working On many fronts, pharma is beginning to decouple growth from carbon by embedding sustainability across the product lifecycle. A primary driver is green R&D, the practice of designing medicines with a reduced environmental cost before they leave the lab. AstraZeneca stands out as a benchmark, having reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 77% since 2015, as of 2024. Simultaneously, companies such as Novartis and GSK are addressing Scope 2 emissions by committing to 100% renewable electricity across owned sites. This difficulty was highlighted by the rapid scaling of blockbuster GLP-1 medicines by companies such as Novo Nordisk.