Sanofi Australia has completed installation of 1,500 solar panels at its Brisbane-based consumer healthcare manufacturing campus and announced a doubling of its green energy commitment at the site.
At an event attended by Anika Wells, federal minister for Aged Care, federal minister for Sport and member for Lilley, 1,500 rooftop solar panels were unveiled along with plans to expand the population to 3,000 panels across the campus.
Wells said it was great to see a Lilley business committing and investing in Queensland’s renewable future.
“As the Federal Member for Lilley, it’s wonderful to see businesses in our local area acting on climate change and prioritising green energy to help future-proof our community,” she said.
“Under the leadership of the Albanese Government, we are making strong advancements on renewable energy.”
The expanded population will include new solar panel-topped car shades across the campus carpark and new electric charge points for employee vehicles. The full project is due for completion in 2023.
Once complete, Sanofi’s Brisbane solar farm will save approximately 1,400 tonnes of CO2 and deliver 2GwH of electricity, which is more than 25 per cent of the site’s annual electricity need.
The amount of electricity generated by the solar farm will be equivalent to powering some 200 Brisbane-based homes for an entire year.
Karen Hood, country lead, Sanofi Australia and New Zealand said “As a global healthcare company, we recognise that climate change presents one of the greatest challenges of our age and that environmental action, taken by everyone, is a key to protecting the health of people worldwide.”
“Globally we are committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and Net-zero by 2050 across all scopes. We have started a number of major programs to deliver on these commitments including switching to renewable energy across all global operations,” Hood added.
Stuart Addinall, head of Industrial Affairs, Sanofi Australia and New Zealand stated, “Modernising how we use materials and energy is a continuous goal for our team in Brisbane, and part of our DNA as innovators. Today’s milestone and announcement is a culmination of commitment, effort and investment by Sanofi and members of our Brisbane based manufacturing and supply teams.
“The energy generated from our solar panels will fuel over 25 per cent of our site in 2023, with the remaining power purchased from the grid from a renewable source. Better use of energy fuels our growth and our unrelenting ambition toward improving planet care.”
Gladys Peters, general manager of Sanofi’s Consumer Healthcare business unit in Australia and New Zealand said consumers today demanded more from brands and businesses, which helps keep everyone accountable to their sustainability efforts and goals.
“When we consider just one of our brands, Nature’s Own, which has a leading partnership with Greening Australia and has published a roadmap addressing packaging, energy usage, responsible marketing and more; we can feel proud of our commitment,” Peters said.
The Brisbane solar farm marks another step on Sanofi’s path toward carbon neutrality across the whole value chain by 2030.
It is the latest of many actions taken in Australia as part of the organisation’s work to help meet its global environmental commitments:
- In 2021 the Australian business announced it was moving to a hybrid car fleet. This shift is now 75 per cent complete.
- In June 2022 it launched an industry first partnership with Return Unwanted Medicines, which aims to help raise awareness of the environmental impact of incorrect disposal of unwanted and out of date medicines.
- In 2022 its consumer healthcare brand Nature’s Own announced a leading three-year
partnership with Greening Australia to help restore natural ecosystems by establishing 25,000 native trees, shrubs and wildflowers across three major Australian cities.
The phase one rooftop solar farm was installed by Smart Commercial Solar.
Learn more about Sanofi Australia here.