Friday 6 December 2019

Novo Nordisk on track for 100% renewable power by 2020

Danish multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has announced it is on track to be completely powered by renewable electricity by 2020.

It follows a $70 million (£53m) investment for the development of a 105MW ground-mounted solar array in North Carolina in the US.

Once completed, it will provide renewable electricity to all existing Novo Nordisk US offices, laboratories and manufacturing facilities.

The company’s US production sites in Clayton and New Hampshire emitted more than 13,000 tons of CO2 from electricity use last year – this is expected to go down to zero with the new solar project.

Chad Henry, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Diabetes Finished Products site in Clayton, North Carolina said: "Reducing our environmental impact is part of our corporate responsibility to the patients we serve, the communities in which we operate and future generations.

“For us, the call to act is clear and we are making a significant financial investment in new renewable energy production in North Carolina to supply Novo Nordisk offices, manufacturing facilities and laboratories across the United States.”

Novo Nordisk’s production in Tianjin, China uses 100% wind power, Monte Claros in Brazil uses 100% hydropower and all production sites in Europe are also completely powered by wind energy. In addition, its facilities and offices in Denmark run on 100% renewable power.

The goal is part of the company’s new ‘Circular for Zero’ strategy, which is aiming for zero environmental impact globally.