Meet Wyeth Company - 2018 FOYA Sustainability Category Winner

Wyeth, a Pfizer Company, is the 2018 ISPE Facility of the Year Category Winner for Sustainability for their Project Diamond - 2nd Pfizer Consumer Health Plant Project in Suzhou, China.

Projects selected for recognition in the Sustainability Category embody the application of novel approaches, tools and techniques intended to improve effective use of energy, minimize waste, reduce carbon footprint, incorporate green manufacturing techniques, reduce environmental impact, and result in more efficient processing, utilities support, and business advantage.

Since 1995, Pfizer Consumer Health has been operating a manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China to manufacture over the counter oral solid dosage pharmaceutical and health supplement products for the China market, but also supplying Australia and New Zealand, other Asian countries, and South America. Due to the rapidly increasing demand for their products, Caltrate and Centrum tablets, the company decided to build a second facility in Suzhou to increase its large batch volume manufacturing capacity, with future areas reserved for other products and other manufacturing platforms.

As a company, Pfizer has embraced environmental sustainability as one of its key corporate responsibilities and by 2020, is committed to reduce greenhouse gas by 20% from 2012, water consumption by 5%, and waste by 15%. As China’s leading multi-national pharmaceutical company, they wanted to use the new facility to contribute to a country where environmental performance has been plaguing its government and people. Also, to further expand the project influence possibility in China and globally, they set even higher aspirations to achieve in-China and international recognition with the goal of setting a new benchmark for the industry in a region with serious challenges on environmental sustainability.

To achieve this goal, the implemented a variety of energy and cost-savings projects including:

• Solar panels on roof tops for domestic water heating
• Solar and wind power lightings, which in addition to utilizing renewables, conveys a very clear and visual message to the community.
• A rainwater harvesting system was installed and recycles rainwater for lawn and plant irrigation.
• The site is located near the second largest fresh water lake in China, the Tai Lake. To protect this precious natural resource, the project is committed to remove all phosphorus and nitrogen from its wastewater discharge stream. The project includes a distillation process to remove phosphorus and nitrogen.
• A green roof and wall for the Administration building provided additional insulation for the building fabric and provides a visual message for the site’s green commitment.

The new Pfizer Consumer Health manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China fully embraces all good engineering practices and latest environmental sustainable design features, and results in a contemporary facility recognized by the prestigious international certification body LEED as the world’s first LEED Platinum pharmaceutical manufacturing campus. This achievement is particularly meaningful for a facility located in China, where environmental sustainability is a difficult challenge facing its government, citizens and industries. The site hopes to make a long-lasting contribution to the local community by setting a high benchmark as a pioneer, demonstrating a viable solution, and encouraging other companies to join the journey to long term environmental sustainability.

ISPE congratulates the Wyeth, a Pfizer Company’s Project Diamond team for their achievements and their Facility of the Year Awards winning entry for Sustainability. Learn more about the 2018 Facility of the Year Awards Sustainability Category winner.