Key environmental figures

Data is not included from companies which have only belonged to Galenica since 2022, nor is the heating-related consumption of Careproduct, Verfora and Galexis Ärzteservice. The fuel consumption of the Group’s own vehicles has been included since 2021, as has heating-related consumption at the Galenica Group’s headquarters. Heating-related consumption at the Sunstore and Amavita pharmacies, ApoDoc and Lifestage Solutions has been included since 2022.

Reduction in energy consumption per full-time equivalent

In 2022, the Galenica Group’s total energy consumption – both within and outside the organisation – amounted to 61,709 MWh (222,154 GJ). The decline of 2% compared to the previous year is due to the energy-saving measures introduced by the task force and reduced fuel consumption. Total energy consumption (in MWh) per full-time equivalent fell by 6%. Compared to the previous year, the intensity of energy consumption in 2022 decreased by 7% in relation to Group net sales. Absolute energy consumption at the Galenica Group has increased by 28% since 2018 as a result of growth and the expansion of the data basis. Energy consumption outside the organisation includes the fuel used by contract drivers. 44% of energy consumption within the organisation comes from renewable energy sources such as hydropower and photovoltaics and around 56% from non-renewable sources such as heating oil, natural gas, diesel and petrol.

Electricity and fuels as the main energy sources

Electricity and fuels are the main energy sources used by Galenica. Electricity accounts for 40% of total energy consumption inside and outside the organisation. In 2022, electricity consumption amounted to 24,518 MWh. All operational and administrative sites of the Galenica Group obtain electricity from hydropower and photovoltaics. There is only very limited scope to influence the choice of energy source for electricity at pharmacy sales premises, as practically all premises are rented.

43% of the energy used in 2022 came from fuels. Around half of this fuel consumption is attributable to the Group companies’ own delivery and service vehicles, and the other half to contract drivers. The fuel consumption of the Group’s own fleet of delivery vehicles fell by 22% in 2022. Fuel consumption by third-party vehicles decreased by 2% compared to 2021. Galenica covers the remaining 17% or so of its energy requirements with fossil-fuel-based heating oil and natural gas. Heating-related consumption at pharmacies was first recorded in 2022, so absolute heating-related consumption increased by around 29% compared to the previous year.

Data is not included from companies which have only belonged to Galenica since 2022, nor is the heating-related consumption of Careproduct, Verfora and Galexis Ärzteservice. The fuel consumption of the Group’s own vehicles has been included since 2021, as has heating-related consumption at the Galenica Group’s headquarters. Heating-related consumption at the Sunstore and Amavita pharmacies, ApoDoc and Lifestage Solutions has been included since 2022. Scope 3 includes the CO₂ emissions of contract drivers used by Galexis, Alloga and Pharmapool.

Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

In 2022, the Galenica Group’s emissions amounted to 11,346 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents (tCO₂e), which is a decrease of 4% compared to the previous year. The decrease is mainly attributable to reduced fuel consumption and the energy-saving measures introduced by the task force. Emissions per full-time equivalent are 7% lower than in 2021. The intensity of CO₂ emissions in relation to Group net sales in 2022 decreased by 8% compared to the previous year. Compared to 2018, absolute emissions increased by 36% as a result of the growth of the Galenica Group and the expansion of underlying data. The transport of goods by Galenica’s own delivery vehicles and contract drivers is the main cause of direct and indirect CO₂ emissions. As a result, 7,157 tCO₂e were released in 2022, corresponding to around 52% of Galenica’s total CO₂ emissions.

Data is not included from Verfora and HCI Solutions in Geneva. Data from Careproduct, Lifestage Solutions, Spagyros and Galenica’s headquarters has been included since 2022.

Almost half of waste is recycled

In 2022, the total weight of waste at the Galenica Group amounted to 3,377 tonnes, an increase of 7%. This increase is mainly due to the widening of the data base. The weight of waste per full-time equivalent has increased by 3% compared to 2021. 88% of total waste was non-hazardous (mainly refuse from operations, cardboard, paper and plastics), while the remaining 12% was classified as hazardous waste (mainly medicines). 43% of waste was recycled, 45% was incinerated and 12% destroyed at a specialist facility for hazardous waste.

Water

The Galenica Group’s water intake amounted to 979,731 m³ in 2022, with 6% coming from municipal water supplies and 94% from groundwater. Groundwater is not consumed, but fed back into the groundwater flow. Alloga, Galexis and Unione use groundwater for the heating and cooling circuit, either extracting heat or using it for cooling. Water also plays a key role in Bichsel’s production processes. Data on water intake was reported for the first time in 2021.

Data on environmental impact

As a rule, the key environmental figures cover all companies of the Galenica Group. This does not include the environmental data from companies where a minority stake is held, nor new companies like Aquantic, which have only been part of Galenica since 2022. However, this data from new companies is to be collected from 2023.

Data on electricity consumption and municipal waste is available for the Amavita and Sun Store pharmacies as well as ApoDoc. The data on electricity consumption and municipal waste for the Amavita and Sun Store pharmacies as well as ApoDoc are extrapolations based on a representative sample totalling 20 pharmacies. Almost all premises are leased, which is why only the annual costs are provided for each location, and not the actual consumption. The electricity consumption of the pharmacies is calculated based on electricity costs in the year under review and the average electricity prices per region according to the Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom). Since 2022, heating-related consumption for the Amavita and Sun Store pharmacies has also been calculated based on a representative sample. Estimates based on costs are also only available for heating-related consumption at the Geneva site of HCI Solutions and ApoDoc.

As Galenica is continuously optimising its environmental indicator system and is gradually expanding its system limits (due to the primarily inorganic growth of the company), data can only be compared to a limited extent from year to year. Also, the key environmental figures from Coop Vitality were retroactively excluded for previous years as these are factored in for Coop at 100%.

The CO₂ emissions caused by energy consumption are calculated using scientific emission factors (Swiss greenhouse gas inventory of the Federal Office for the Environment). The calculated CO₂ emissions refer to direct and indirect energy-related emission sources. According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, direct sources of emissions include the production of heat for buildings and the operation of the vehicle fleet (= Scope 1). The largest indirect sources of emissions are the production of purchased electricity (= Scope 2) and the logistics services of contract drivers (= Scope 3).