Environmentally aware

We are committed to advancing environmental sustainability initiatives across our operations and supply chain in support of a healthier planet. We seek to deliver value while always doing our best to protect the environment where we live and work. 
As a leading healthcare company with a foundation in pharmaceutical distribution and an expanding portfolio of solutions for manufacturers, pharmacies, and providers, we have a unique ability to drive environmental sustainability throughout the supply chain. By pursuing opportunities within our own operations and partnering with our customers and supply chain partners on environmental sustainability initiatives, we amplify our impact on a global scale. To maximize our efforts, we work collaboratively across the enterprise to share best practices in energy efficiency, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management, waste management, and responsible packaging. Our environmental data today includes actual and estimated figures from across Cencora, including Alliance Healthcare and PharmaLex where possible. As we continue to globally integrate across recently acquired businesses, we will continue to prioritize accessing and sharing more complete actual data. Our approach to corporate responsibility governance reflects our commitment to track our global environmental sustainability progress, and our environmental sustainability mindset influences our business decisions. 

In FY 2024, we produced a total of 38,811 metric tons of non-hazardous waste  

Scope of waste data detailed in our Reporting Index: GRI 306 
26,617
metric tons of diverted waste 
12,194
metric tons of non-diverted waste

Climate resilience 

As connectors between those who create and those who prescribe and dispense medication, distributors play a critical role in the pharmaceutical supply chain. To ensure the resilience of our operations, we are continuously assessing our climate-related risks so that we can serve our customers and their patients without disruption. 


Reducing our emissions  

We continue to focus on reducing our environmental impact through our science-based targets, set in line with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) guidance. Cencora commits to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions 54.6% by FY2032 from a FY2019 base year. We also commit that 82% of our suppliers by spend, covering purchased goods and services, will have science-based targets by 2027. Our emissions targets were validated by the SBTi as being consistent with the reduction required to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, we have made two region-specific GHG emissions reduction commitments. Alliance Healthcare UK has pledged to become net carbon zero by 2030 for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions within their operations, and Cencora pledged to reduce our US Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 as part of the US Department of Health and Human Services Health Care Sector Climate Pledge. 

To reach our Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction targets, we plan to reduce consumption through optimization programs and energy efficiency measures with investments in renewable energy and alternative fuel vehicles. For example, in Fiscal 2024, we completed a solar photovoltaics (PV) installation at the World Courier facility in Stockholm, Sweden and initiated PV system projects in Zurich, Switzerland and Copenhagen, Denmark that are expected to go live in Fiscal 2025.  Alliance Healthcare also initiated a solar project at the Preston, UK site.  

In FY24, our total Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions increased by 7.4% from our FY19 base year and by 9.1% from FY23. Increases are largely due significant business growth since 2019, which has led to corresponding increases in emissions.



Scope  FY19 Emissions (MTCO2e)4  FY24 Emissions (MT CO2e)
 Scope 1  98,742  135,0874
 Scope 21  110,191  88,699
 Scope 22  100,593  79,063
 Scope 33  19,881,916  40,504,084

1 Scope 2 location-based emissions
2 Scope 2 market-based emissions
3 Scope 3 emissions calculations include actual emissions calculations using spend-based, hybrid, and activity-based methodologies based on the category and available data. Categories calculated or estimated in FY24 include categories 1 through 9, 11-13, and 15.
4 FY19 Scope 1 & 2 baseline was recalculated in FY23 due to divestiture of our stake in Alliance Healthcare Egypt

For more information on our methodology, see the Reporting Index

Building sustainably

As we expand globally, we implement sustainable building practices as one way to manage our carbon footprint. In FY24 we continued to consider sustainability in selecting, building, and retrofitting properties across our global facilities network. These buildings safeguard lifesaving medications and human tissue, creating operational complexities that are essential to securely store these resources. Despite complexities, we take into account  technical storage capabilities and sustainability in evaluations of new real estate opportunities. 
 
Facilities achievements in FY24 include World Courier’s newly constructed and recently opened facility in Prague, Czech Republic stands out as one of the most sustainable buildings in our portfolio. As a valued addition to our global network, this building earned BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification at an ‘excellent’ level for both ‘new-construction’ and ‘in-use’ stages. BREEAM is an internationally recognized benchmark for best practice in validating sustainable building design. 
 
Additionally, Alloga Spain opened the first of 2 innovative new distribution centers in Illescas which was awarded the 'Outstanding' sustainability certification from BREEAM. The Alloga Spain team also was honored as 2024 Logística Profesional Awards winners in the category of “Inmologistics – Sustainable Projects”. The award recognized the Alloga team for this new distribution center, and for operating as a healthcare logistics pioneer in sustainability. Not only have we been able to create infrastructure that meets operational needs efficiently and robustly but have done so while implementing sustainable construction and management practices. 

Waste management, recycling, and sustainable packaging  

Cencora strives to reduce waste by focusing first on source reduction wherever feasible, recycling what we cannot eliminate, and landfilling as a last resort. Responsible management and disposal are an important aspect of our waste management strategy. We strive to ensure we properly dispose of waste in our own operations while also considering the downstream impacts of our packaging materials we send to our customers. We continue to address the challenge of reducing waste from product packaging that arrives at our facilities from suppliers by seeking alternative disposal options for hard-to-recycle plastics. We also engage our third-party waste management partners to help identify opportunities.

MWI

MWI, part of Cencora’s Animal Health business, has been using reusable totes as containers in the UK for several years. In FY24, MWI launched a major initiative in the US, implementing a reusable tote delivery program for ambient and cold chain orders via a dedicated courier partner. Since its launch in January 2024, the US reusable tote program has been adopted by 1,300 key corporate customers in the U.S., and has nearly eliminated single-use cardboard and Styrofoam in deliveries to these customers – not only cutting down on waste, but also saving our partner veterinary practices valuable time and physical effort that would have been spent breaking down and throwing out packaging. Our priority is to ensure products are delivered safely; thus we carefully consider each sustainable packaging opportunity that will also achieve our goal of waste reduction. To prevent the product itself from going to waste, packaging waste is unavoidable for some products. Because of this, MWI wraps only glass items, out of necessity, to ensure their safe delivery. 

Alliance Healthcare UK

In FY24, Alliance Healthcare UK supported the Re-Hale inhaler initiative. This was a collaborative project between NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Chiesi UK Ltd. Alliance Healthcare UK was commissioned within this project to collect inhalers to be recycled on pre-existing delivery routes.  The Re-Hale project has shown that there is a scalable solution to effectively disposing of inhalers. With approximately 60 million inhalers prescribed annually in the UK, the waste from these crucial medical devices has posed a significant environmental challenge. Re-Hale introduces a straightforward yet impactful solution. Patients and healthcare professionals can return used or unwanted inhalers to participating pharmacies, dispensing doctors, and hospitals. These inhalers are then collected alongside regular medicine deliveries by our Alliance Healthcare drivers, ensuring no additional trips are made during pick-up. Subsequently, the inhalers are transported to a central depot for recycling, reducing their environmental footprint. By recycling inhalers, we not only mitigate environmental impact but also reinforce our dedication to creating a healthier and greener world for future generations. 

Transportation efficiency 

In support of our emissions reduction efforts, we continuously seek efficiencies across our global transportation network to include route optimization opportunities and other strategies. In FY24 we made significant progress with an electric vehicle (EV) pilot in California, in collaboration with our largest carrier partner. As part of this initiative, which began in FY23 with a few vehicles, we procured additional EVs which became operational in FY24 and intend to bring even more online in FY25.  We are now scaling the program’s operability after seeing initial success, reinforcing its long-term business resilience and economic benefits. To support the ongoing resilience of an EV fleet, we began installation of EV chargers onsite with the partner. The EV program, which will complete launching in 2025, has already received overwhelmingly positive customer feedback. The vehicles driving lower turnover provide an enhanced customer perception due to their reliability, aesthetics, and reduced maintenance needs. In the future, we plan to extend the program to other carrier partners, furthering our commitment to reducing emissions and making our operations more resilient. 
 
In FY24, Alliance Healthcare UK completed fleet renewal for company cars, with 92% of these renewals for electric or  hybrid vehicles (EVs), including the first EV company vans. Meanwhile, Alliance Healthcare in Turkey introduced a new operational EV in FY24, increasing their electric fleet to 12 vehicles, which is scoped to further expand in 2025. In addition, World Courier continues to balance sustainability advancement interests with operational reliability priorities. As a global specialty logistics provider, World Courier is actively evaluating opportunities to electrify its fleet while continuing to provide reliable delivery to remote and specialty locations worldwide. World Courier is working to address infrastructure limitations by assessing the best approach to acquire and build charging stations and is considering hybrid options to prevent disruptions and ensure operational reliability wherever we serve. In FY25 and beyond, our businesses will continue to work towards developing innovative solutions that allow us to deliver on human health goals and our high standard of service to our network. 

Animal health order consolidation 

MWI Animal Health has continued bolstering its efforts to encourage order consolidation among its customers. By consolidating orders, we are able to make fewer deliveries, which increases efficiencies and reduces the related carbon emissions. Customers can still place orders as frequently as they wish, but MWI consolidates deliveries, packing and shipping twice a week instead of every day. In FY24, this shift in order operations has expanded to more customers, including those customers utilizing reusable totes, further enhancing efficiency while stewarding resources thoughtfully.
 
The customer response to MWI’s sustainability initiatives has been positive, as veterinary practices can feel and appreciate the practical benefits of greener operations: fewer boxes to unpack, orders to reconcile, and invoices to process. Order consolidation and the high-touch reusable tote program help our customers — many of which are small, local businesses — get back their time to focus on giving animals the care they need.

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