Eco-pharma dilemma: Navigating environmental sustainability trade-offs within the lifecycle of pharmaceuticals – A comment
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In: Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, Vol. 43, 101893, 02.2025.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Eco-pharma dilemma
T2 - Navigating environmental sustainability trade-offs within the lifecycle of pharmaceuticals – A comment
AU - Moermond, Caroline T.A.
AU - Puhlmann, Neele
AU - Pieters, Lowik
AU - Matharu, Avtar
AU - Boone, Lieselot
AU - Dobbelaere, Maarten
AU - Proquin, Héloïse
AU - Kümmerer, Klaus
AU - Ragas, Ad M.J.
AU - Vidaurre, Rodrigo
AU - Venhuis, Bastiaan
AU - De Smedt, Delphine
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
PY - 2025/2
Y1 - 2025/2
N2 - An ideal pharmaceutical treatment is both safe and effective for patients. However, from a sustainability perspective, it also needs to be cost-effective, energy- and resource-efficient, and not have a negative impact on the environment. When striving towards environmentally sustainable healthcare, trade-offs between environmental sustainability and other aspects play a multi-faceted role in decision-making along the whole life cycle of a pharmaceutical, from design to end-of-life. When making environment-driven choices, stakeholders in this life cycle (e.g., procurers, prescribers) may not be aware of all consequences (environmental, social, or economic), which complicates decision-making processes. Information at hand may be ambiguous or unknown due to data gaps, complex and interdependent local, national and global healthcare systems, and unknown future developments. Thus, trade-offs may happen at temporal or spatial scales outside of the daily practice of stakeholders. This commentary aims to initiate a discussion on these trade-offs, the need for a holistic view, the use of multi-criteria decision-making tools, and clear environmental sustainability guidelines.
AB - An ideal pharmaceutical treatment is both safe and effective for patients. However, from a sustainability perspective, it also needs to be cost-effective, energy- and resource-efficient, and not have a negative impact on the environment. When striving towards environmentally sustainable healthcare, trade-offs between environmental sustainability and other aspects play a multi-faceted role in decision-making along the whole life cycle of a pharmaceutical, from design to end-of-life. When making environment-driven choices, stakeholders in this life cycle (e.g., procurers, prescribers) may not be aware of all consequences (environmental, social, or economic), which complicates decision-making processes. Information at hand may be ambiguous or unknown due to data gaps, complex and interdependent local, national and global healthcare systems, and unknown future developments. Thus, trade-offs may happen at temporal or spatial scales outside of the daily practice of stakeholders. This commentary aims to initiate a discussion on these trade-offs, the need for a holistic view, the use of multi-criteria decision-making tools, and clear environmental sustainability guidelines.
KW - Environmental impact
KW - Holistic assessment
KW - life cycle
KW - Pharmaceutical treatment
KW - Pharmaceuticals
KW - Stakeholders
KW - Sustainability
KW - Chemistry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85212825148&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scp.2024.101893
DO - 10.1016/j.scp.2024.101893
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:85212825148
VL - 43
JO - Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy
JF - Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy
SN - 2352-5541
M1 - 101893
ER -