WHO Launches Global Framework to Decarbonise Pharma Sector

Healthcare systems are responsible for an estimated 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with pharmaceutical products contributing significantly through every stage of their lifecycle, from manufacturing and distribution to use and disposal. 

The sector's environmental impact has also grown rapidly. Between 1995 and 2019, greenhouse gas emissions from pharmaceuticals increased by 77%, substantially outpacing the 49% rise in global consumption-related emissions over the same period.

As the pharmaceutical industry's carbon footprint continues to expand, it is also becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with extreme weather, resource shortages and supply chain disruption posing growing risks to medicine production and patient access.

Against this backdrop, the World Health Organization's (WHO) global industry framework, “Towards a greener pharmaceuticals' regulatory highway: a framework for regulators as enablers of decarbonisation”, marks the culmination of a process that began in 2024.

Shaping a more sustainable pharma sector

WHO also issued a global “call to action” that year, urging regulators to play a greater role in accelerating the development and adoption of more sustainable pharmaceutical products and services. 

The final framework builds on evidence gathered through literature reviews, stakeholder consultations, horizon scanning and discussions at WHO's Global Regulators Summit, held in June 2026.

"The question is no longer whether pharmaceutical decarbonisation is possible. The real challenge is how quickly and equitably we can make it a reality,” says Dr Rogério Gaspar, Director of WHO's Department of Regulation and Prequalification.

“This framework demonstrates how medicines regulators can create the conditions for innovation to flourish while continuing to uphold the highest standards of quality, safety and efficacy. By making full use of existing regulatory tools, they can help advance more sustainable pharmaceutical systems that benefit both people and the planet."

Three core pillars

The framework is centred around three pillars:

1. Awareness and Capacity Building
2. Guidance, Tools and Standards
3. Innovation and Innovative Regulatory Pathways

The first pillar aims to strengthen climate literacy across medicines regulators by embedding sustainability into existing regulatory training programmes and equipping authorities to identify the largest sources of emissions across pharmaceutical products and supply chains.

One example highlighted by WHO is the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, which has developed a pilot programme running from 2027-2028 to integrate decarbonisation into existing regulatory processes.

The initiative will expand staff carbon literacy training, develop default pharmaceutical emissions data with academic partners and share best practice with other African regulators, creating a scalable model for greener medicines regulation across the continent.

The second pillar focuses on improving international alignment on how pharmaceutical emissions are measured, reported and benchmarked. 

WHO argues that developing shared data standards, identifying common carbon hotspots and establishing voluntary emissions reporting mechanisms will help create greater consistency while reducing the reporting burden for industry and regulators alike.

The third pillar encourages regulators to make better use of existing regulatory pathways that enable earlier, more iterative engagement with manufacturers developing environmentally beneficial innovations.

Rather than creating new approval routes, the framework emphasises using established regulatory tools to accelerate sustainable technologies while maintaining the same rigorous standards of quality, safety and efficacy.

WHO highlights Indonesia's Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) as an example of this approach in practice. Between 2023 and 2025, the regulator piloted electronic product information, replacing printed medicine leaflets with QR code-accessible digital labels. 

By building on existing digital infrastructure, the initiative reduced paper, printing and distribution requirements, demonstrating how regulatory modernisation can deliver environmental benefits alongside improved access to up-to-date product information.

Equity and access

A central theme of the framework is ensuring the pharmaceutical sector's transition to net zero is equitable, with every WHO Member State able to participate and benefit.

WHO stresses that decarbonisation must not come at the expense of medicine affordability, supply resilience or equitable access. 

Instead, the transition should support manufacturers and regulators in low- and middle-income countries, ensuring sustainability requirements do not become barriers to innovation or market participation.

“As regulators, we are not passive actors in this system; we are architects of it,” says Dr Delese Mimi Darko, Director General of the African Medicines Agency.

“By embedding sustainability into our regulatory frameworks, we can support innovation, strengthen local manufacturing and build more resilient health systems that ensure patients continue to have access to quality, safe and efficacious medical products."

WHO concludes that the shift towards greener pharmaceuticals must be both just and inclusive, underpinned by capacity building, technology transfer, sustainable financing and international collaboration to ensure every country can contribute to and benefit from a more sustainable pharmaceutical future.