GSK has announced it has signed a 10-year energy deal with Sembcorp, covering the electricity demand for all three of GSK’s global manufacturing sites in Singapore. This means that from 1 January 2025, all of GSK’s manufacturing operations in Singapore will be covered by renewable energy certificates from Sembcorp’s solar projects in Singapore and the 3 per cent already being generated by GSK’s on-site solar panels. 

This deal will facilitate the supply of renewable energy certificates for up to 87,600MWh of electricity annually, equivalent to approximately 36,500MT of CO2, which is set to increase GSK’s global purchased renewable electricity usage by 9 per cent. 

GSK’s manufacturing facilities in Singapore are critical for the production of innovative medicines and vaccines for HIV, oncology and infectious diseases. This deal is part of GSK’s ongoing investment and commitment to Singapore, where GSK has had a presence since 1959 and today employs over 1,500 people. It has invested more than S$2.5 billion (£1.5 billion) in Singapore to date. 

Regis Simard, President, Global Supply Chain, GSK said: “I’m proud that we’ve been able to sign this deal to transition our manufacturing sites in Singapore to renewable electricity from 2025. We are working to decarbonise our manufacturing facilities globally through purchasing renewable electricity as well as investing in on-site renewable electricity generation. This is an important part of how we are reducing the carbon impact of our medicines and vaccines. 

Vickrem Vijayan, Head of Energy Commercial, Singapore, Sembcorp said: “As a leading renewable energy player in Asia, Sembcorp is well-equipped to support its customers to decarbonise through its global renewable energy portfolio and suite of carbon management solutions. We are delighted to be a part of GSK’s decarbonisation journey, and look forward to helping more corporates progress towards their sustainability goals.”

Healthcare systems globally account for roughly 5 per cent of all emissions, with more than half of these emissions being created in manufacturing supply chains. Renewable electricity deals like this are part of how GSK is working to deliver on its ambitious sustainability targets, and to reduce the environmental impact of developing and manufacturing medicines and vaccines.

Transitioning to renewable energy, which will improve air quality, also has important benefits for respiratory and human health.

At a global level, GSK is committed to an 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across all scopes by 2030 and a 90 per cent reduction by 2045, from a 2020 baseline. This includes a commitment as part of the RE100 initiative to 100 per cent purchased renewable electricity by 2025 and 100 per cent renewable electricity (purchased and generated on-site) by 2030. At the end of 2023 (using the last published data), GSK had reached 83 per cent purchased renewable electricity across its operations.