What is green chemistry?
Why it matters in pharma today
Real-world applications of green chemistry
Barriers and future directions
Conclusion
The pharmaceutical industry has a crucial role in modern healthcare, but it also has a significant environmental footprint. From large-scale solvent use and carbon emissions to water pollution and chemical waste, drug development and manufacturing have a considerable impact on the environment across every stage of the value chain.
Pharmaceutical operations, including production, distribution, and disposal, contribute significantly to pollution and climate change. The carbon emissions of the pharmaceutical industry have been estimated to be up to 55% higher than those of the automotive sector.1
Pharmaceutical waste (solvents, reagents, packaging, etc.) is a cause of concern. Pollutants reach ecosystems through various pathways: excretion of unmetabolized drugs, effluent from manufacturing plants, runoff from agricultural use, and domestic wastewater. Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and their transformation products have been found in water, soil, and even food chains.2
Growing environmental concerns and tighter regulations emphasize the importance of sustainability and put pressure on industries to adopt greener, more responsible practices such as green chemistry, which is among the most promising approaches.
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What is green chemistry?
Defined in the 1990s by Paul Anastas and John Warner, green chemistry is a framework for designing safer, more sustainable chemical processes, enabling cost savings and regulatory compliance, as well as reputational gains.3
Green chemistry is based on twelve principles. Among them are waste prevention, atom economy – which aims to maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final product – and the use of safer solvents and reaction conditions to reduce energy requirements and toxicity.
The energy efficiency principle recommends conducting reactions at ambient temperature and pressure, while the catalysis principle aims to use small quantities of catalysts instead of stoichiometric reagents, therefore reducing waste.
Another principle is design for degradation, which states that chemicals should be designed so they degrade at the end of their function and do not persist in the environment.
These principles often contrast with traditional synthetic methods that prioritize yield and speed over environmental considerations. In pharma, green chemistry means rethinking how products are synthesized, which solvents are used, and how reactions are scaled without compromising safety or quality.
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Why it matters in pharma today
The drive for sustainability and green chemistry is supported by several factors, ranging from regulatory compliance to cost and process efficiency. Agencies are embedding environmental risk into their frameworks. For instance, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) introduced a mandatory environmental risk assessment (ERA) for new marketing authorization applications for human use.4
The REACH regulation (registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals) restricts the use of hazardous chemicals to protect human health and the environment, and both the EMA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promote sustainable manufacturing.
In response, green chemistry often leads to simpler, more efficient synthetic routes. Techniques like continuous flow chemistry and biocatalysis reduce energy use, solvent waste, and purification steps, leading to lower operational costs.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria are influencing investment decisions. Companies embracing sustainability are well-positioned to attract capital, meet stakeholder expectations, and enhance their market reputation.
Some pharmaceutical firms are also implementing broader green practices like sustainable sourcing, eco-friendly packaging, and extended producer responsibility (EPR).
The Pharmaceutical Industry | Environmental | Chemistry | FuseSchool
Real-world applications of green chemistry
Leading pharma companies are already implementing green chemistry practices and seeing measurable results. Merck transitioned from batch to a continuous manufacturing process for the production of pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), increasing production efficiency, reducing facility size, and cutting water and energy use, resulting in fewer emissions and less waste.5
Similarly, their nemtabrutinib process was reduced from an eleven-step synthesis to just two steps, while toxic solvents were replaced with renewable ones, and catalysis was introduced for improved atom economy and safety.6
Pfizer implemented a greener synthesis for sertraline (Zoloft®) that doubled yield, reduced raw material use by 20-60%, eliminated nearly two million pounds of hazardous materials, and significantly cut energy and water consumption.7
These innovations have also been recognized by awards that highlight the industrial implementation of novel green chemistry strategies and synthetic routes with real-world commercial and environmental benefits.
Examples are the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards from the U.S. EPA or the Peter J. Dunn Award established by the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Pharmaceutical Roundtable (GCIPR).
Barriers and future directions
Despite growing momentum, a few challenges limit the adoption of green chemistry in pharma. First, there is limited awareness of the broader environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals. There is also limited disclosure as environmental impacts remain underreported, creating a knowledge gap.8
Second, estimating carbon footprints is complex, as it varies by geography, production methods, and supply chain logistics. Moreover, technical and economic constraints present other challenges because retrofitting existing facilities or redesigning well-established syntheses can be costly and time-consuming.
New tools are addressing these challenges. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are being used to optimize reaction pathways for greener alternatives. Platforms like the ACS GCIPR offer solvent guides, databases, and sustainability metrics to support decision-making.
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Conclusion
As sustainability becomes central to business strategy and regulation, companies need to adapt and incorporate eco-friendly initiatives like green chemistry.
Pharma professionals, from R&D scientists and engineers to regulatory and sustainability teams, play an important role in this transformation.
By embracing green chemistry, the industry can reduce its environmental impact, improve operational efficiency, and help safeguard public and environmental health.
References
- Booth, A. & Shaw, S. E. (2025). Addressing the Environmental Impact of Pharmaceuticals: A Call to Action. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 86, 1-8.10.12968/hmed.2024.0841. Available: https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/hmed.2024.0841
- Sammut Bartolo, N., Azzopardi, L. M. & Serracino-Inglott, A. (2021). Pharmaceuticals and the environment. Early Human Development, 155, 105218.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2020.105218. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378378220307027
- Anastas, P. & Eghbali, N. (2010). Green Chemistry: Principles and Practice. Chemical Society Reviews, 39, 301-312.10.1039/B918763B. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/B918763B
- 2024. Environmental risk assessment of medicinal products for human use - Scientific guideline [Online]. European Medicines Agency. Available: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/environmental-risk-assessment-medicinal-products-human-use-scientific-guideline#document-history-7648 [Accessed 11/04/2025].
- 2024. Green Chemistry Challenge: 2024 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award [Online]. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Available: https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/green-chemistry-challenge-2024-greener-synthetic-pathways-award [Accessed 11/04/2025].
- 2022. Merck team wins 2022 Peter J. Dunn Award for Green Chemistry and Engineering [Online]. ACS Green Chemistry Institute. Available: https://communities.acs.org/t5/GCI-Nexus-Blog/Merck-team-wins-2022-Peter-J-Dunn-Award-for-Green-Chemistry-and/ba-p/87165 [Accessed 11/04/2025].
- 2024. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge: 2002 Greener Synthetic Pathways Award [Online]. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Available: https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/presidential-green-chemistry-challenge-2002-greener-synthetic-pathways-award [Accessed 11/04/2025].
- Riikonen, S., Timonen, J. & Sikanen, T. (2024). Environmental considerations along the life cycle of pharmaceuticals: Interview study on views regarding environmental challenges, concerns, strategies, and prospects within the pharmaceutical industry. European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 196, 106743.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejps.2024.106743. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092809872400054X
Further Reading