AstraZeneca Invites 700 Suppliers to CDP Disclosure to Meet 2030 Net-Zero Target

AstraZeneca expanded its supplier CDP disclosure programme from 250 to more than 700 suppliers in 2022, nearly tripling its supply chain engagement as it works toward a 50% reduction in its entire value chain footprint by 2030 from a 2015 baseline. The pharmaceutical company's Scope 3 emissions are more than 20 times larger than its combined Scope 1 and 2 footprint.

AstraZeneca has achieved a 59% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2015 and, in October 2021, became one of the first companies globally to have emissions reduction targets verified under the SBTi's Net-Zero Standard. The company has set a target that 95% of key suppliers and partners should have verified science-based targets by 2025. Its CDP Supply Chain membership provides structured annual data from suppliers on GHG reduction plans, which AstraZeneca uses to develop sustainability engagement plans and track progress toward net-zero.

In 2021, AstraZeneca invited its top 250 suppliers to participate in CDP Supply Chain disclosure, with more than 70% responding — including many disclosing through CDP for the first time. The April 2022 Accelerating Sustainability supplier conference set clear expectations for action in that reporting year and preceded the expansion to 700-plus suppliers. AstraZeneca's Positive Sourcing Programme embeds sustainability criteria into end-to-end procurement, reflecting the company's view that its commercial success cannot be separated from the environmental performance of its supply chain partners.

AstraZeneca's longer-term target is a 90% reduction in total value chain emissions by 2045 from a 2019 baseline, with the remaining residual emissions to be addressed through verified removals. The approach illustrates a broader trend among pharmaceutical and consumer goods companies of using procurement leverage — through CDP Supply Chain membership — to cascade science-based targets through complex global supply chains. For Indian pharmaceutical suppliers operating in AstraZeneca's value chain, engagement with CDP disclosure is becoming a condition of supply as the company scales its sustainability requirements.

Key figure — 59% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2015