Pharmaceutical companies and sustainability: an analysis of corporate reporting

The purpose of this research paper is to benchmark the evolution of reported sustainability activity in the pharmaceutical sector, which has been recognized as a leading sector in industrial sustainability.

The authors examined recent published corporate sustainability activity reports for 11 pharmaceutical sector‐related companies and compared this to a similar earlier study.

Sustainability related activity has increased in breadth and depth, but activity is now being shifted toward corporate social responsibility, which is reflective of corporate need to satisfy public sentiment.

The paper is formed on the basis of voluntarily reported activities and published documentation, therefore, it does contain a potential for bias and “greenwashing”; however, regardless of the impetus, the integration of sustainability is still evident.

The paper is of value to the practicioner and manager to benchmark the venues and activities reported for sustainability, in other words, what is the sector participating in and what is it reporting?

Benchmarking of corporate practice in a sustainability leadership sector provides a glimpse into the emerging standard of practice for industry.