Biodiversity

The SHIONOGI Group appreciates the benefits of biodiversity in all of its business activities, including pharmaceutical research, development, manufacturing, and marketing, and strives to reduce the negative impacts of its business activities on biodiversity. Specifically, we will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity by working with our suppliers on the four material issues of AMR, climate change, resource conservation and circulation, and water, which are material environmental issues for our business, over the medium to long term. The conservation of biodiversity is not an issue that can be resolved by one company alone. We will expand our environmental initiatives to our employees, local communities, and many other stakeholders to contribute to the sustainability of the earth.

SHIONOGI is committed to protecting biodiversity. We endorse the Keidanren Declaration on Biodiversity and Action Guidelines (revised version), and have published our ambitious action policies for and specific activities on biodiversity as part of the Initiative based on the Declaration of Biodiversity by Keidanren.

Keidanren: Initiative based on the Declaration of Biodiversity (External website)

Quality water brought about by the diversity of ecosystems is an important resource that is indispensable for pharmaceutical manufacturing. The SHIONOGI Group works to decrease the impact of soil contamination on the ecosystem by setting criteria for the quality of wastewater, which are stricter than those imposed by related laws and regulations, and to reduce the consumption of limited water resources by recycling most of the water we use back into the environment.

* See the section Water for details.

 

As a countermeasure against AMR, which has become a global issue, we inactivate antimicrobials in wastewater discharged from antimicrobial-manufacturing plants and confirm that the level of antimicrobial content in the wastewater has no environmental impact. We require our suppliers both in Japan and overseas to thoroughly manage antimicrobials in wastewater to contribute to the resolution of the AMR issue and the conservation of the ecosystem.

* See the section AMR for details.

There are many pharmaceuticals of plant origin. Even today, plants are important specimens for pharmaceutical research and are used as raw materials for pharmaceuticals.

 

The Aburahi Botanical Gardens was established in 1947 within the Aburahi Research Center located in Koka City, Shiga Prefecture. Initially, plant cultivation was carried out for the purpose of cultivating origin plants and searching native origin plants for pharmaceutical drug discovery. However, it has now been refurbished as a facility for promoting environmental initiatives and conducting community and social contribution activities. At the Gardens, more than 1,000 species of plants, including threatened and rare species, are managed and maintained.

As part of our social contribution activities for the local community through the Aburahi Botanical Gardens, we invite experts from Kyoto Pharmaceutical University and Kobe Pharmaceutical University to provide educational support to local elementary and high school students, who will lead the next generation. We also provide opportunities to learn about the environment by holding garden tours, targeting new employees and those enrolled at Shiga Lacadia University. Although we were sometimes forced to refrain from these activities due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in FY2021, we continued our activities while paying close attention to infection prevention measures.