Sustainability is not a passing fad. The Green New Deal philosophy is here to stay and is part of a global strategy to favour carbon-neutral facilities and installations. Put into other words, it is a paradigm shift where, should companies not promote this ecological and transitional aspect, they now set an expiration date.
In the pharmaceutical, biotechnological and life sciences sectors, compliance with the specific regulations for these rooms has, until now, been the first and sole priority.
However, global warming and the increase in energy costs; has created a situation in which a greater sensitivity in promoting sustainable strategies to minimise dependence on carbonized energies, and, at the same time, to minimise the environmental impact caused by any productive activity.
Drawing on more specific matters, the sustainable strategy in refrigeration systems, air conditioning and clean rooms is increasingly necessary, but it requires that it be accompanied by more technology, more innovation and, without doubt, more sustainable business culture.
Fredlab, a benchmark company in controlled environment rooms, is well aware of this ecosystem well in the market. For this reason, more than a year ago now, it designed its i-lab strategy, from which it brings together technological solutions for optimized management of the facilities and installations, favoring ecological systems and preserving the environment with its own GreenFred guarantee.
Investing in sustainability is not a question of placing a bet or a brand strategy. It is a business philosophy from the very start to the very finish. Sustainability is a its best when it is applied to all areas of the company.
In the construction of controlled environment rooms, it is not only applied to the emissions generated by this installation; but also to its correct dimensioning, to its correct maintenance management in order to avoid any extra or hidden costs and, moreover, to ensure an increase in the service life of the installations and facilities with the use of artificial intelligence. All these factors, among many others, make the installation more efficient and, in return, much more sustainable.
All parameters count and, for this, it is essential that the sustainable strategy is viral throughout the installation; from the engineering team who, for example, are responsible for the reduction of air exchange in the controlled environment room; right through to the installer and the maintainer who will apply a preventive, predictive and corrective control system that is maximumly efficient.
The tools available for a sustainable management are countless, but a special mention should be made of the BIM Technology (Building Information Modeling), which makes it possible to define with precision all the information of the installation.
A technology that prevents the waste of resources and more accurately manages the construction, installation and maintenance of the facility. But sustainability also applies to the finances of any company. Investing in sustainability is today an investment that requires, in the first instance, a higher capital mobilisation than a sustainable installation would not require. To this end, specific economic lines must be established to help finance the technologies that will make reducing emissions much more economically profitable. And a number of banks are already beginning to work along these lines.
In brief, sustainability had initially been a strategy for marketing teams to improve the brand image with stakeholders; Now this strategy reduces transition risks and acts as a differentiating lever in an ever-increasingly competitive market.
Being sustainable today adds points to business competitiveness. In pharmaceutical facilities, as in most others, it is about making sustainability part of the business culture where both the installer and the owner must assume a mutual commitment in this area.
To this end, the main commitments to be made are as follows:
As a final note. The European guidelines, under the Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Pact, aim to lead the inevitable energy transition to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030.
In order to achieve this, they pursue 3 objectives: to prioritise energy efficiency to make Europe the world leader in renewable energies and to offer a fair deal to consumers. Without further ado, we return to the initial question, in which we asked whether it is a good bet for the future to invest in sustainability. My answer is most definitely: Yes!
