Working toward a low-carbon future

In today’s world, sustainability is a matter that concerns everyone across the planet. On a large scale it impacts the environment, but it also affects individuals, communities, and companies of every size, regardless of their business activity. Nemera is no exception. Because of the nature of our industry, a top priority has always been to provide a safe working environment for our employees. Over the past several years, however, our environment, health, and safety (EHS) strategy has expanded to also include today’s pressing global issues of the environment and climate change. What follows is a brief look at some of the concrete steps we’re taking to identify — and meet — our ESG targets.

2tonnes Workshop and World Climate Day

With the creation of a Global EHS Department in 2021, we have been taking a direct, hands-on approach to aligning ourselves with internationally recognized standards on global carbon emissions. One such initiative we recently launched is the 2tonnes Workshop, the aim of which is to raise employee awareness on CO2 emissions. The first session was held in September 2023 and included 110 leaders from all our sites.

“The event was a success,” says Sandrine Coutarel, Global EHS Director, “because it showed people exactly what they can do in their personal lives to reduce carbon emissions. We even trained some internal facilitators, which means we can now roll out this workshop on all Nemera sites, and for all employees.”

The goal is to meet the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change. To limit global warming, each individual on the planet should not emit more than 2 tonnes of carbon per year. In France we average 10 tonnes per person per year, which shows us we can still make progress in this area.

To continue this momentum of raising awareness about our impact on the climate, Nemera employees will have another opportunity to participate in various activities, including the 2tonnes Workshop on December 8, 2023, also known as World Climate Day. Activities are currently being organized for our locations in France (Lyon and La Verpillière) and in Buffalo Grove (United States).

“The point is to involve people,” says Sandrine Coutarel. “8 December is symbolic, of course, but we want people to continue the discussion after the event, we want to create cohesion within our group. Because this will help guide our individual and collective actions to reducing our carbon emissions.”

Climate — The New Focus of Our ESG Strategy

It 2021 we identified climate as the focus of our environment, social and governance strategy (ESG). That’s when we resolved to follow the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi) in order to help us define and then develop the best practices for our carbon reduction roadmap.

One of our first objectives is to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90%. This includes everything from the activity on our sites to company cars. 2019 was the base year, and the target is 2030.

Because energy consumption represents 90% of our scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions, we made the decision in 2019 to gradually change how our sites source electricity. As of 2022, the electricity for all our locations in Europe, the United States and Brazil is now obtained from either renewable carbon-free source. Thanks to these efforts, we have already achieved this goal!

“Reducing our scope 3 emissions is the most difficult to tackle,” admits Sandrine Coutarel, “because we don’t have direct control over the actions of the partners in our value chain.” The goal is to reduce our scope 3 emissions by 55% between 2019 and 2030. To do this, we need to continue bringing awareness to our employees, improve the eco-design of our products, and work with our suppliers to achieve our targets.

Novelia? and Bio-Resins — Towards a More Sustainable Future

Any discussion about reducing carbon emissions in the short term must include the topic of oil-based resins. At Nemera we only produce plastic products, and the resins we procure represent approximately 70% of our scope 3 emissions. The certification process that will authorize our French plants to use bio-resins is in process, and in early 2024 we plan to begin the first production tests of Novelia? using a percentage of bio-based resins.

“R&D is heavily involved in this process,” says Sandrine Coutarel, “because the first step is to check the availability of resins and then ensure it has the same properties as what we are currently using. The longer-term plan is to improve the eco-design of our new products. This means, for example, using fewer resins, which would make the plastics easier to recycle, and in some cases reusable.” Another eco-design possibility is to develop reusable devices rather than disposable ones.

Materiality Matrix – Creating the Foundation of our ESG Roadmap

The materiality matrix is a two-part analysis tool that helps us identify the impact of Nemera’s activity on suppliers, clients, society, and the environment. It also gives us clarity on the financial consequences the company could face should we do nothing to address these topics.

The recently completed analysis will form the basis of our ESG roadmap. We now have more clarity on the different topics we need to work on, such as health and safety, product quality, employee development, ethics, diversity and inclusion, and pollution.

“It's a challenging process,” explains Sandrine Coutarel, “because it must involve all internal stakeholders, from Quality and Finance to Sales and Marketing. By early 2024 we hope to begin implementing the different ESG projects across all sites, the goal of which is to create a more positive impact on the society and the environment.”

EcoVadis and BREEAM– Rating our ESG Strategy

Another tool we are using at Nemera is EcoVadis, the internationally recognized assessment platform that rates businesses’ achievements in sustainability. This yearly assessment is based on a comprehensive questionnaire that covers four themes: Environment, Ethics, Labor & Human Rights, and Sustainable Procurement. The medals awarded by EcoVadis, ranging from bronze to platinum, represent sustainability achievements compared to other assessed companies. For example, a gold medal signifies you are part of the 5% of companies which have the highest score. Nemera is currently ranked silver, and the target for 2024 is gold.

“What’s important with EcoVadis,” explains Sandrine Coutarel, “is that it allows you to compare yourself to your competitors. But you can also assess your suppliers using this tool, to know where they are in their ESG journey. Ultimately it shows us the areas where we can continue to make improvements in order to reach the targets laid out in our sustainability roadmap.”

Another important certification is BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) and concerns Nemera’s buildings, from its offices to manufacturing sites. Simply put, BREEAM is the world’s leading certification system for sustainable construction and includes factors such as resource management (water and energy), and employee working environment.

For our newest manufacturing facility inaugurated in 2022 in Szczecin, Poland, for example, the entire design phase took into account the latest environmentally friendly technology in order to reduce the building’s impact on the local and global environment. For this the building received a “Very Good” rating, while our offices in Lyon have been certified “Excellent” and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). In the future we want all new building projects to receive a “Green building” certification.

The road to reaching our ESG targets is long, but not impossible. “ESG is about companies taking responsibility,” says Sandrine Coutarel. “We produce plastic devices and disposable drug delivery device solutions. At the same time, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment, on society, and on the communities around our plants.”

The actions designed into our ESG roadmap are leading us to our goal of achieving net zero carbon by 2050. It’s going to require the participation of all our stakeholders, from employees all the way to our financial investors. Fortunately, we have an open-minded leadership team that is committed to finding the right balance between core business and ESG.

“The best,” admits Sandrine Coutarel, “would be that, in 10 years, my position isn’t needed anymore. Today we need the certifications and ratings to keep us on track, but my wish would be for all ESG actions to become totally integrated into the DNA of the company. That’s the way forward. That’s the way to achieving our goals to protect the environment for the future generation.”