Samsung Biologics, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has received the Frost & Sullivan Institute’s 2022 Global Enlightened Growth Leadership Award. The award recognizes companies for their commitment to growing in a manner that foregrounds corporate social responsibility and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies. Samsung Biologics received the award amid its continued efforts to become a sustainable CDMO, reducing emissions and participating in several sustainability initiatives.
“We are proud to receive this award and be recognized for our efforts in proactively addressing global priorities while securing continuous growth as a sustainable CDMO partner,” said Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim. “We will continue to implement innovative and sound business practices throughout our value chains to build a healthier ecosystem, driving a sustainable future for all.”
A CDMO Innovating to Zero
The Frost & Sullivan Institute is a nonprofit organization focused on the goal of what it calls “innovation to zero,” a commitment to implementing sustainable, innovative solutions that improve global health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and eliminate workplace safety hazards. In presenting Samsung Biologics with the Global Enlightened Growth Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan recognizes the CDMO’s shared commitment to these goals.
According to the institute’s research on potential awardees, “With end-to-end, integrated biopharmaceutical solutions in contract development and manufacturing, and expansion plans across Asia, America, and Europe with an underlying vision to enrich human lives, Samsung Biologics stands out for its contribution in protecting and prolonging human lives by producing lifesaving drugs and vaccines in collaboration with its clients. This recognition is also a testimony to Samsung Biologics’ unwavering commitment to the vision of ‘innovating to zero’ — zero global illnesses, zero emissions, and zero workplace accidents achieved through professional excellence, science-based emission reduction targets, and robust safety assessment frameworks.”
Samsung Biologics’ most recent ESG report, released in July 2022, indicates how the CDMO is approaching each of these components of innovating to zero.
As one of the world’s largest CDMOs, Samsung Biologics utilizes its manufacturing capacity to produce large quantities of monoclonal antibodies used to treat a variety of diseases worldwide. And the company is diversifying its portfolio and pursuing cutting-edge biopharmaceutical technologies such as biosimilars and mRNA vaccines.
Following a successful mRNA vaccine production partnership manufacturing Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, Samsung Biologics completed the construction of a new end-to-end mRNA facility at its headquarters in 2022. It also finalized the full acquisition of Samsung Bioepis, a biosimilars company with a pipeline that includes therapeutics for immunology, oncology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology, and ophthalmology applications.
While Samsung Biologics continues to grow, it hasn’t lost sight of the environmental impact of its business. This is emphasized in its ESG report, which details a growth strategy tied to a commitment to net-zero emissions.
“Under our ‘Driven. For a Sustainable Life.’ framework, we are continuously improving and committing our resources to create a sustainable environment, build a healthy society, and implement responsible business activities,” said Rim in a statement announcing the release of the report. “The publication of our annual ESG Report reinforces the progress we’ve made, while keeping us focused on the long-term goals we’ve set. Our sustainability initiatives reinforce the connection between the work we do and how we fulfill our mission, while delivering on our core values of always putting people and the environment first.”
These long-term goals include reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 54.3% by 2026. In 2022, Samsung Biologics reported these emissions were down 32.3% compared to the previous year.
In addition to reducing its own emissions, Samsung Biologics is actively engaging with suppliers to work toward more sustainable practices across the supply chain. The CDMO’s goal is to reduce Scope 3 emissions, those which are indirectly related to its operations, by 26.7% by 2026. Samsung Biologics is also requiring its suppliers to comply with its Supplier Code of Conduct, which was amended in February 2022 in accordance with the Responsible Business Alliance and Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative.
Samsung Biologics’ involvement in sustainability initiatives is another cornerstone of its alignment with the Frost & Sullivan Institute’s efforts to innovate to zero.
As the only CDMO representative in the Sustainable Markets Initiative, Samsung Biologics partners with global leaders from the healthcare system, academia, and international organizations like the World Health Organization and UNICEF to work toward net-zero emissions across the biopharmaceutical supply chain.
The CDMO also joined the Frontier 1.5D initiative, a global collaboration started by South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Samsung Biologics has been developing climate change risk-management models as part of its involvement in the initiative.
Samsung Biologics also remains committed to transparent disclosure of its emissions, maintaining a role as a business sector representative of the Carbon Disclosure Project, a nonprofit that runs a global emissions disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions. The CDMO received an Honor Award from the CDP for its emissions disclosure practices in 2021.
Workplace Safety
While sustainability is a key criterion for the Global Enlightened Growth Leadership Award, it’s not the only factor considered by the Frost & Sullivan Institute when determining which companies should receive the award. Efforts to ensure worker safety are also considered, and this was an important factor in presenting the award to Samsung Biologics.
In the ESG report, the CDMO reports; “Under the slogan of ‘Every day, everybody, back home safely,’ Samsung Biologics runs a safety health management system (ISO 45001) to ensure safety of our employees, supplier employees and visitors.”
Samsung Biologics also formed a task force to eliminate consequential accidents in the workplace. This task force consists of a task force lead, a managing director, and 26 department heads from 24 departments related to manufacturing.
“We are doing our best in fulfilling our social and environmental responsibilities through various activities, including establishing health and safety management processes to prevent serious accidents, carrying out business practices toward mutual growth with suppliers, and investing in social contribution activities, including programs to support those socially marginalized,” said Rim in an introduction to the ESG report.
Continuing Sustainable Growth
According to Rim, sustainability will be a continued point of emphasis for Samsung Biologics as the CDMO pursues multidimensional growth. While the Global Enlightened Growth Leadership Award is a recognition of the company’s efforts thus far, Rim recognizes the need to continue to focus on sustainable growth.
“Samsung Biologics’ strong start to the 2022 fiscal year was driven by building momentum around our long-term growth strategy and expanding capacity,” said Rim in a statement on the company’s earnings report earlier this year. “Turning to the present and future, Samsung Biologics has also committed to making sustainability a key component of the way we work and engage with our partners and communities. In our mission to build a healthier future for all while creating enduring and sustainable value, we are investing in initiatives to mitigate the risks of climate change in the greater areas we impact.”