Rolling Up Our Sleeves for Environmental Protection

We strive to minimise our environmental impact, comply with regulations, and increase resource efficiency, for example:

• We plan to implement environmental management according to the ISO 14001 international standard at all our manufacturing plants worldwide by 2026*. Our manufacturing plant, in Gqeberha, is ISO 14001 certified and our compounding unit aims to be certified by the end of 2025. We have local targets to improve environmental efforts at our sites, including waste, water, wastewater, and energy consumption. 
• We hold a matrix certification for our global environmental and energy management systems and both of our local manufacturing plants form part of this global matrix. Both systems are audited annually and certified by TÜV Rheinland. A global handbook and standard operating procedures provide a global framework for our environmental and energy management. 
• Further, we expect our suppliers to demonstrate careful and responsible handling of nature and its resources, a stipulation that is set in our corporate Third-Party Code of Conduct. We also take environmental criteria into account in decision-making processes for new projects and developments.

Find our Corporate Environmental Management Certificates on our Resource Center page. We welcome any questions on our ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 policies at EHSpolicies@fresenius-kabi.com.

*Implementation will be concluded at all manufacturing plants in 2026. The certification issuance from the individual certification companies may extend into the following year.

How we manage our energy consumption 

Energy consumption in our production processes is one of the most important environmental challenges we face in our work. Therefore, our energy management system focuses primarily on improving energy performance and avoiding excessive consumption. Renewable energy sources – such as water, solar, and wind power – play a role in our energy supply, which is mainly from external suppliers. We also generate electricity in our own facilities and use options like combined heat and power systems, solar installations, or energy-saving measures to reduce CO₂ emissions. The certification for ISO 50001 is planned for the manufacturing plant by the end of 2025, with the compounding unit by the end of 2026.

We are working on introducing the ISO 50001 energy management system at all production sites worldwide by 2026*.

*Implementation will be concluded at all manufacturing plants in 2026. The certification issuance from the individual certification companies may extend into the following year.

How we reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency

All our production sites can share best practices and exchange information on our internal platform, the Global Competence Cluster (GCC) for Energy and Water Management. In 2022, the GCC generated over 70 ideas for environmental protection from about 25 sites.

How we use water responsibly

We mainly use water in production for cooling before discharging it as wastewater. 

While our global environmental standard operating procedures and working instructions include water and wastewater handling controls, we also employ water management measures to monitor the quality and authorised withdrawal of water and discharge of wastewater. 

How we manage waste sustainably

According to the World Health Organization, about 15 percent of waste generated in the healthcare sector is hazardous material that can have negative effects if not disposed of properly. Waste at Fresenius Kabi is generated mainly as a by-product of production processes or as packaging material for product containers in hospitals, private households, and nursing homes. This includes both non-hazardous and hazardous waste, such as solvents, cytostatics and antibiotics. 

Plastic waste represents the largest portion of non-hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is, to a large extent, processed and reused for a similar purpose. The internally generated waste is mostly recycled, while the majority of the non-recyclable hazardous waste is incinerated and led into energy recovery.