Roche: How Healthcare Can Reach Net Zero
Healthcare is evolving and Roche is showing how environmental responsibility and patient care go hand in hand.
The company’s sustainability strategy is validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and aims for deep cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its entire value chain.
With ambitions for net zero by 2045 and absolute zero by 2050, Roche is placing climate goals alongside its commitment to patient health.
Roche is recognised as the world’s largest biotechnology company and a leader in in-vitro diagnostics.
It develops and manufactures pharmaceutical products and diagnostics, with a focus on personalised healthcare and treatments for complex diseases.
Alongside this, Roche is addressing climate change through science-aligned targets and a broad plan for sustainable healthcare.
Science-aligned targets for net zero
Roche’s climate strategy is approved by the SBTi, confirming it follows the 1.5°C pathway set out in international climate science.
This framework means the company must deliver emission cuts across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Scope 1 refers to direct emissions from company-owned facilities or vehicles, Scope 2 relates to purchased electricity and heat, while Scope 3 covers all indirect emissions in the value chain, from suppliers to product use and end-of-life.
The company aims for net zero by 2045, with a 90% cut in absolute emissions from a 2022 baseline.
“The SBTi validation underscores our deep commitment to addressing climate change and enabling a sustainable future for all,” says Silke Hörnstein, Head of Corporate Strategy and Sustainability at Roche.
“We are prioritising significant reductions across our entire value chain to achieve these targets.
“Regarding Scope 1 and 2 emissions, we are even going beyond the SBTi targets, by striving for absolute zero by 2050.
“We are the only ones going for absolute zero in our industry, which makes me extremely proud.”
Near-term goals set for 2029 include a 70% cut in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 22.5% reduction in Scope 3 emissions linked to energy use, waste, business travel and product life cycles.
Roche also expects 70% of suppliers covering purchased goods, capital goods and transport to have their own science-based targets in place by that date.
Cutting emissions across operations and supply chains
Roche plans to source 100% sustainable electricity by the end of 2025, with 86% already achieved by the end of 2024.
The company is switching to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind and phasing out halogenated hydrocarbons, which are potent greenhouse gases.
Each site has its own roadmap to reduce energy demand and adopt clean heating technologies, including heat pumps and geothermal storage.
Because over 90% of its footprint falls within Scope 3, Roche focuses on four levers:
working with suppliers to set their own science-based targets
designing circular product lifecycles to reduce waste
prioritising reuse and recycling over incineration, with returnable packaging schemes
limiting the environmental impact of business travel
This broad approach reflects the connection Roche makes between planetary health and human health, linking sustainability to access to innovation, equity for staff and protection of nature and water resources.
Digital and AI as enablers of sustainable healthcare
Technology is also central to Roche’s strategy. Its Basel Drug Substance site in Switzerland earns recognition as a Global Advanced Digital Lighthouse by the World Economic Forum in 2024.
This award highlights the use of data, digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve both efficiency and sustainability in production.
The results show practical impact: a 60% reduction in variation across drug substances, a 50% cut in technology transfer times and a 31% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Basel is a global innovation hub for Roche, producing both biologics and small molecules, and the lessons from this site are now being scaled across the wider network.
Roche’s sustainability strategy brings together environmental action with broader commitments to healthcare access, diversity and inclusion, and transparent governance.
Founded in Basel in 1896, the company’s vision of sustainable healthcare today extends well beyond the laboratory, integrating climate goals with its mission to improve patient lives worldwide.
