AstraZeneca

At AstraZeneca, we believe that people’s health is inextricably linked with the health of our planet. It is for this reason that we have made environmental protection the key pillar of our social strategy. For us, environmental protection and the company’s transition to zero emissions are a strategic pillar in our actions and we have made both a global and national commitment to proceed with flagship initiatives that pave the way in environmental protection.

We know that effective environmental management is capable of preventing illnesses and improving access to healthcare. Therefore, achieving this ambitious target of zero emissions comes under this framework. 

“We protect the environment with... Actions” is a multi-year initiative run by AstraZeneca Greece, which designed and linked targeted actions regarding environmental protection and tackling climate change. It includes coastal cleanups, tree planting, energy saving actions in public spaces and strengthening students’ environmental knowledge. As part of this initiative, AstraZeneca Greece has fully transitioned its fleet to electric vehicles with zero emissions.  

As part of the global AZ Forest program, the company is committed to planting 200 million trees by 2030 and to ensuring their long-term survival. Correspondingly, as part of the “We protect the environment with... Actions” program in Greece, significant tree planting actions are carried out so that AstraZeneca Greece employees will have planted and subsequently cared for more than 30,000 trees by 2030.   

The objective of AstraZeneca Greece’s multi-year “We protect the environment with... Actions” program is to raise the employees’ awareness in adopting actions, all of which lead to the company’s zero carbon footprint. That said, the company completed the transition of its entire fleet to electric vehicles. The implementation of this action began in 2023. The transition to e-mobility is also part of our global flagship initiative, Ambition Zero Carbon. The company’s goal is to achieve deep decarbonization according to the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.  

As an industry pioneer, the company has already reduced greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 68% compared to 2015. By 2030, the company will have achieved zero carbon emissions in Scopes 1 and 2 and halved the emissions of Scope 3 moving towards the achievement of science-based net-zero emissions by 2045 at the latest. 

The program targets an internal audience, the company's employees, who actively participate in its implementation with their volunteering, and the wider public to whom messages are communicated through relevant actions.  

2019-2023 

In its initial phase, from 2019 to 2022 – established on the principles of sustainability and best environmental management practices – the “We protect the environment... with actions” program contextually “linked” the 4 mathematical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) with 4 environmental protection actions. It concerned coastal cleanups, energy upgrading/lighting of public squares, raising the awareness of students on environmental issues, as well as reforestation (in 2020) in an area in the Attica in need (Neos Voutzas). 

Nowadays, the program continues in two directions which demonstrate the company’s broader strategy of leading the initiatives towards carbon neutrality. 

Transition to e-mobility 

AstraZeneca Greece transitioned its entire 230-vehicle fleet to electric vehicles with zero emissions. In addition, a total of 42 charging stations have been installed at the company’s facilities, while subsidizing the cost of installing home-based charging stations for employees that are open to this, for charging their vehicles. 

Organized tree planting program 

Falling in line with the global AZ Forest program, in which the company has committed to plant 200 million trees by 2030 and to ensure their long-term survival, AstraZeneca Greece planted and cared for 4,000 trees throughout Greece in 2023. Based on the “We protect the environment with... Actions” program, the company plans on planting and caring for more than 30,000 trees throughout Greece by 2030. On 11/3/23, more than 250 AstraZeneca Greece employees gathered in the area of Mt. Imittos in Peania and the Nature Park of Kalochori in Thessaloniki, where in collaboration with “WE4ALL”, a non-profit, environmental, and humanitarian organization, planted new trees, actively contributing to the restoration of the natural environment, which has been particularly affected by destructive fires in recent years. Moreover, the AstraZeneca employees cared for many trees that had been planted in the areas in previous actions and pledged to return to the areas regularly to water and check on the progress of the trees. 

AstraZeneca collaborates with renowned environmental organizations for the implementation of the individual actions of the “We protect the environment with... Actions” program. With respect to the tree planting program, it collaborates with the WE4ALL environmental organization. 

All of AstraZeneca’s employees participated in the environmental actions during the implementation of the program’s actions. 

All the actions of the “We protect the environment with Actions” program took place in the areas of Attica, Thessaloniki, Volos, Patras, and Crete. Tree planting that has been planned until 2030 concerns various areas throughout the country. 

Tree planting 

As part of the initial phase of the corporate environmental program, 200 saplings were planted for the reforestation of the fire-stricken area in Neos Voutzas, Attica in 2020. 211 employees symbolically supported the action by planting an olive sapling in their area. It is estimated that the 411 newly planted saplings will absorb an average of 2,933 kg carbon dioxide per year, while releasing 15,600 kg of oxygen into the atmosphere, which will increase over time as they grow. 

With the design of the expanded tree planting program, which is part of the renewed “We protect the environment with... Actions” program, AstraZeneca Greece and its employees planted and cared for 4,000 trees across the country in 2023. Once fully grown the planted trees will supply 468,000 kilograms of oxygen annually, thus improving the quality of the air we breathe.  

E-mobility 

Through e-mobility, namely the transition of the AstraZeneca Greece’s entire fleet to state-of-the-art electric vehicles, the company realizes its target of significantly reducing its environmental footprint given that the 230 vehicles of the AstraZeneca Greece fleet produce zero emissions.  

Through the global Ambition Zero Carbon initiative and the “We protect the environment with... Actions” program at national level, we implement the principles of our environmental strategy in order to further reduce our environmental footprint by 2045. 

Internally, the program contributes to boosting teamwork among company employees and volunteering, as well as the education and cultivation of environmental sensitivity. At the same time, our internal audience become ambassadors of the corporate values and the program’s messages.