Have you thought about making eco-friendly changes in your environment? Small changes made each day can have a meaningful contribution towards a healthier, more sustainable world! If everyone made a conscious effort to consider their environmental impact, the Earth would be a greener, healthier place to live.

Over the last several years working as a pharmacy technician and now as a pharmacist, I see first hand the amount of garbage that is produced by pharmacies each day. Most recently, after joining ratiopharm as a pharmacy resident, I have decided to explore the issue further and read ratiopharm’s 2009 report on pharmacy waste. The report incorporated statistical data which definitely reinforced the significance of the waste produced.

On a more corporate level, last year ratiopharm launched “Healthy Earth, Healthy Me”, a program which focuses on developing environmentally friendly initiatives within pharmacies. The launch of this program has also led ratiopharm to become the first generic pharmaceutical company committed to educating and supporting pharmacies in the implementation of green initiatives. Since our focus thus far has been to advocate for ways to reduce the waste produced by pharmacies, I decided to assess ratiopharm to determine if we actually practice what we preach.

We are pleased to report that over the last year, ratiopharm’s employees have really committed themselves and made a number of changes in the workplace. After speaking with a few of my co-workers from various departments, I began to realize that one of the things that we all have in common is that each one of us is very environmentally conscientious and we all have made noteworthy eco-friendly changes both in our workplace and in our homes.

More specifically, ratiopharm has implemented company-wide practices to mitigate the impact of our everyday office operations. The following is a list of practices:

ratiopharm’s Green Initiatives:

• In support of Earth Day, our President and CEO, Jean-Guy Goulet encouraged all employees through e-mail to turn the lights off for one hour that day
• Christmas party invitations and holiday wishes were sent to co-workers in the form of e-cards instead of paper cards
• Office lights automatically shut off by 8:00 pm and motion detectors control the lights in the washrooms and in the lunch room to automatically shut off the lights when these areas are not in use
• Instituted a recycling program for plastics, glass, paper, magazines, etc.
• Replaced plastic water bottles with a tap filter in the company lunch room
• Purchased silverware and reusable dishes for the lunch room in the office – no plastic flatware, cups or disposable plates

ratiopharm’s Employee Green Initiatives:

• Computer monitors are shut off when not in use
• Bring lunch to work and avoid eating out, which usually involves using styrofoam containers or other disposable packaging
• Use mugs for coffee and tea at work instead of purchasing coffee which involves disposable cups
• Reuse and recycle paper
• E-mail or scan documents as opposed to printing and faxing
• Reducing margins on printed documents
• Print documents double sided
• During meetings, print copies of handouts so people can share instead of printing one copy per person

Can any of the initiatives that we have taken be incorporated into your everyday work and personal environment? Please remember that in order to live in a greener world, you must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Raya Palatnic, BSc. Phm, R.Ph
Pharmacy Resident
ratiopharm