Energize Powers Up Global Healthcare Companies By Signing Multi-Buyer PPA For Long-Term Renewable Energy

Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management and automation, has announced new progress in helping the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors reduce carbon emissions. Through the Energize program, top pharmaceutical and healthcare companies are working together to source renewable energy. In its latest milestone, Energize has completed its second multi-buyer power purchase agreement (PPA) with X-ELIO. The renewable energy will come from X-ELIO’s Lorca Solar Project, expected to start operating by early 2026. This follows the first PPA cohort announced in fall 2024.

Konrad Bauer, senior vice president, global business services, Thermo Fisher Scientific, said “As a company whose mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer; we know partnership is critical to achieving ambitious goals. Serving as cohort lead for this agreement empowered us to leverage learnings and insights from our own climate journey to help advance our collective progress toward net-zero emissions, while achieving 100 percent renewable electricity for our European sites.”

“We are excited to be part of this Energize cohort that will add new renewable energy to the grid in Europe for our operations and our suppliers. Our work through Energize, which we co-founded in 2021, showcases the power of partnerships in driving meaningful change, supporting business resilience, ensuring energy security and improving cost predictability in the long term,” stated Lisa Martin, Chief Procurement Officer at GSK.

Sponsors Haleon and GSK, along with industry suppliers Gilead Sciences and Thermo Fisher Scientific, have committed to purchasing 245 GWh of renewable energy per year for 10 years. This is expected to cut 41,748 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually—the same as the electricity use of nearly 75,000 Spanish households. Thermo Fisher Scientific led the negotiations for this agreement. Supply chains are responsible for over 50% of the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector’s emissions. To address this, 24 leading companies sponsor the Energize program, managed by Schneider Electric.

Sarah McDonald, VP of Sustainability at Haleon, remarked “At Haleon, our purpose is to deliver better everyday health with humanity. People’s everyday health is directly linked to the health of our planet so we take our commitment to reduce our environmental footprint very seriously. Collaboration is key to achieving our environmental sustainability goals and by partnering with like-minded organizations, we can amplify our impact and drive meaningful change. This initiative is a vital part of our aim to reach net-zero carbon emissions from source to sale by 2040.”

Joydeep Ganguly, SVP of Corporate Operations at Gilead Sciences, mentioned “At Gilead Sciences, responsible long-term investments and partnerships are crucial to achieving a healthier world for all. Our 2025 transition to 100 per cent renewable energy rests on sourcing continued clean energy, and this program is key to meeting our net-zero operations goal by 2030. It is a clear privilege to lead with our ambitions and contribute to creating new green infrastructure with our peers. Climate change is indifferent to siloed achievements but will be profoundly transformed by a collective urgency to do better for our planet. A future where we meet our responsibility to deliver medicines without creating the need for more, will be defined by cross-collaborative efforts like this one.”

The program offers free education and support for suppliers to switch to renewable energy and advance their sustainability goals. Earlier, Energize also secured its first multi-buyer PPA for 563.7 GWh of renewable electricity per year for a decade. With multiple PPA agreements in place, the initiative is proving successful in driving long-term investments in clean energy. Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Business advised the companies involved in this latest PPA throughout the negotiation process.

Mirko Molinari, Chief Commercial Officer at X-ELIO, said in a statement “We are delighted to collaborate with a landmark program, Energize, and contribute to its ambitious goal to decarbonize the pharmaceutical and healthcare supply chain.”

John Powers, Vice President, Global Renewable at Schneider Electric, also added “Making the most of our energy and resources is crucial as we collectively move towards more sustainable solutions across industries and around the world. The Energize program aims to drive supply chain carbonization across the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries while serving as a playbook for other sectors as they look to tackle the most notoriously challenging aspects of decarbonization – Scope 3 emissions.”

Related