GSK is a company that is responsible for the manufacturing of many healthcare products available in many pharmacies. They are committed to integrate environmental sustainability into their businesses. Due to the depleting natural resources, GSK has to maintain a high standard of environmental sustainability in order to survive.
Currently, raw materials contributed the most to the carbon footprint of Jurong Factory in 2010 with a stunning amount of 90 million kg of CO2 per year.
Some of the methods used includes increasing mass efficiency of manufacturing products. The Jurong factory is termed the 'factory of the future', and many of the sustainability strategies are being emphasised and tried out here. In the manufacturing of lamivudine, the active ingredient in many HIV combination therapies, a new process will increase mass efficiency (use less raw materials for every kg of products manufactured), reduce water used through solvent recovery operation from 60 litres/kg lamivudine to 15litres/kg lamivudine, and cut the chemical oxygen demand in wastewater to less than a third of the previous level. http://www.gsk.com/responsibility/cr-report-2010/environmental-sustainability/environmental-sustainability-strategy/
Ideas in mind
Some of the ideas for more sustainability would be creating an inhaler that can be refilled. In the visit to 3M, we have learnt that the flex circuits are now attached onto the printer and thus consumers would only have to buy the ink cartridges which could really save the environment by using less raw materials to make the flex circuits. Similarly, for GSK, if a model that is refillable is invented, it would really save the environment by reducing the amount of raw materials used. The casing for the inhaler is made using plastics, which is made from crude oil. As we know, crude oil is a non-renewable natural resource and thus reducing the amount of plastics made can help to reduce the amount of carbon emission too. Coincidentally, raw materials is the largest contributor to GSK's carbon emission and reducing the amount of plastic used can help the environment in the long run.
Takeaways
The biggest takeaway I have for today would be how seamlessly the whole production building worked together to create a product. In our visit, I found out that the production line actually starts from the highest floor and the products produced will be transported to the floor below it by gravity. The whole building is literally the production line. In this production line, the operators have to always be alert as the machines may overheat at times and the operator would have to fix the problems. This can be applied in my daily life as being even a student or a citizen, we should always be alert about the things happening around us.
Not only so, in this production line, everyone contributes to the success of the product manufacturing. Everyone is responsible for each step of the process and if any mishaps happens along the production line, the products may not be formed successfully and the raw materials may have gone to waste. This concept can be applied in my daily life as it speaks the importance of teamwork. In a team, everyone has to work with one another in order to achieve certain things.
Current methods of ensuring sustainability
GSK is a company that is responsible for the manufacturing of many healthcare products available in many pharmacies. They are committed to integrate environmental sustainability into their businesses. Due to the depleting natural resources, GSK has to maintain a high standard of environmental sustainability in order to survive.Currently, raw materials contributed the most to the carbon footprint of Jurong Factory in 2010 with a stunning amount of 90 million kg of CO2 per year.
Some of the methods used includes increasing mass efficiency of manufacturing products. The Jurong factory is termed the 'factory of the future', and many of the sustainability strategies are being emphasised and tried out here. In the manufacturing of lamivudine, the active ingredient in many HIV combination therapies, a new process will increase mass efficiency (use less raw materials for every kg of products manufactured), reduce water used through solvent recovery operation from 60 litres/kg lamivudine to 15litres/kg lamivudine, and cut the chemical oxygen demand in wastewater to less than a third of the previous level.
http://www.gsk.com/responsibility/cr-report-2010/environmental-sustainability/environmental-sustainability-strategy/
Ideas in mind
Some of the ideas for more sustainability would be creating an inhaler that can be refilled. In the visit to 3M, we have learnt that the flex circuits are now attached onto the printer and thus consumers would only have to buy the ink cartridges which could really save the environment by using less raw materials to make the flex circuits. Similarly, for GSK, if a model that is refillable is invented, it would really save the environment by reducing the amount of raw materials used. The casing for the inhaler is made using plastics, which is made from crude oil. As we know, crude oil is a non-renewable natural resource and thus reducing the amount of plastics made can help to reduce the amount of carbon emission too. Coincidentally, raw materials is the largest contributor to GSK's carbon emission and reducing the amount of plastic used can help the environment in the long run.Takeaways
The biggest takeaway I have for today would be how seamlessly the whole production building worked together to create a product. In our visit, I found out that the production line actually starts from the highest floor and the products produced will be transported to the floor below it by gravity. The whole building is literally the production line. In this production line, the operators have to always be alert as the machines may overheat at times and the operator would have to fix the problems. This can be applied in my daily life as being even a student or a citizen, we should always be alert about the things happening around us.Not only so, in this production line, everyone contributes to the success of the product manufacturing. Everyone is responsible for each step of the process and if any mishaps happens along the production line, the products may not be formed successfully and the raw materials may have gone to waste. This concept can be applied in my daily life as it speaks the importance of teamwork. In a team, everyone has to work with one another in order to achieve certain things.