Sustainable Pharmacy Guide

This guide has been created by AP Group in conjunction with Green Moves Australia.

The United Nations defines sustainability as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." For pharmacies, sustainability translates to environmentally conscious and socially responsible practices within the sector.

Why Sustainability Matters

It ensures that natural resources are conserved for future generations..   

Resource Preservation

Sustainability safeguards the ecosystem on which we all depend on.   

Ecosystem Protection

Sustainable practices improve the quality of life for both your community and the planet.

Quality of Life

Benefits for Pharmacies

When pharmacies commit to sustainability, they can unlock a range of advantages

Competitive Edge: Setting your pharmacy apart with a sustainability commitment can give you a competitive edge in a crowded market.

Cost Savings: Sustainable practices help conserve resources, reduce waste, and ultimately lower operational cost.

Enhanced Brand Reputation: Prioritising sustainability can improve your pharmacy's reputation and draw eco-conscious customers who value environmentally responsible businesses.

Customer Loyalty: Promoting sustainable supply chains and responsible medication disposal can foster customer loyalty and trust in your pharmacy's ethical practices.

Sustainable Pharmacy Quick Wins

Switch your power supply to 100% renewable energy

You can find a provider on the GreenPower website.

Fix any leaking taps

And fit water saving devices to minimise water usage.

Separate waste correctly

Ensure you have green waste, recycling and landfill bins clearly labelled.

Steps to Reducing Your Pharmacy’s Environmental Footprint

Transforming your pharmacy into a sustainable model requires a structured approach

Step 1: Understand Your Pharmacy's Footprint

  • Regular Tracking: Measure and monitor your pharmacy's energy consumption regularly and track your carbon footprint with the assistance of tools such as the Carbon Footprint Calculator. For a more detailed assessment, organisations like Green Moves can help.

    Monitoring Tools: Investigate installing a smart meter to track your energy usage. Utilise energy monitoring portals offered by your energy retailer to keep track of your usage.

Step 2: The 5 Key Areas to Target

  • Green Energy: Source 100% accredited Green Power for your operations. GreenPower is an Australian government resource that makes it easy to recognise and purchase renewable energy that meets stringent environmental standards.

    Water Efficiency: Ensure you are using water-efficient appliances and fit taps with water saving devices where possible.

    Heating and Cooling: Service units annually, clean air filters, and optimise programming so that they are only running when needed.

    Lighting: Switch to energy-efficient LED lighting, add motion sensors, and use timers.

    Hot Water Systems: Opt for highly efficient systems or instant units. You can find out more information, including how to choose the right water heater via the Australian Government energy rating website.

    Refrigeration: Choose energy-efficient models, prioritise stainless steel or standard door units. You can find out more, including an explanation of the mandatory energy rating labels via the Australian Government energy rating website.

  • Waste Assessment: Assess and monitor your pharmacy's onsite waste.

    Reduction Strategies: Consider strategies to reduce waste and enhance recycling rates.

    Manage Waste Appropriately: Properly manage waste through segregation, recycling, and responsible disposal, including hazardous medications. Refer to your local council for more information on their recycling segregation requirements.

    Useful Waste Management Resources:

    Planet Ark have a thorough list of recycling options for businesses across Australia

    Terracycle – offer pharmacies recycling zero waste boxes

    Medication Management: Optimise inventory to minimise waste and promote digital prescriptions.

    NFP Return Unwanted Medicines (or The RUM Project) provides a free and safe method for the disposal of unwanted and expired medicines.

  • Seal Gaps: Inspect walls, windows, doors, and floors for gaps and use caulking or weatherstripping.

    Insulate: Improve insulation with batts, blown-in insulation, or rigid foam insulation.

    Upgrade Windows: Consider double-pane or low-emissivity (low-E) windows.

    Thermal Curtains or Blinds: Use thermal curtains or blinds to regulate temperature.

  • Selection Criteria: Establish criteria for selecting suppliers based on sustainability initiatives.

    Prioritise Sustainability: Encourage suppliers to adopt eco-friendly practices and ethical sourcing.

    Sustainable Suppliers: Collaborate with suppliers prioritising sustainable sourcing, ethical ingredients, and recyclable packaging and inform key suppliers about your sustainability focus. Resource: Leverage resources from organisations like the Sustainability Victoria website for guidance on responsible supply chain management.

  • Community Engagement: Educate the local community on sustainable practices and responsible medication disposal.

    Continuous Improvement and Education: Stay updated on new technologies, trends, and regulatory requirements, actively seeking improvement opportunities.

Step 3: Set Policies

  • Guiding Principles: Environmental policies provide overarching guidance for sustainable decisions.

    Specific, Measurable Goals: Policies should include specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goals.

    Communication: Policies must be easily accessible and communicated to everyone in your organisation.

  • You can use this template as a foundation for your own Environmental Policy;

    At ‘Company name’ pharmacy we take great care for our customers, our team and our environment. We aim to employ practical emission strategies in our business to minimise our environmental impact. We take an active interest in our day-to-day actions and are actively working toward leading our industry in reducing the impact of our activities on the environment while encouraging others to do the same.

    This policy states our environmental goals and guides our selection criteria for products, services, and activities, helping us to meet our environmental targets now and into the future.

    We are committed to:

    • Preventing pollution and energy waste to minimise our environmental impact.

    • Purchasing 100% accredited Green Power for our operations by 2025.

    • Striving to minimise energy consumption across our business though preferencing the purchase of good quality and highly efficient appliances such as heating, cooling and refrigeration.

    • Ensuring all our water using appliances are highly water efficient by 2030.

    • Minimising waste wherever possible through reducing packaging and encouraging reuse and responsible recycling across our activities, to reduce operational waste by 10% by 2025.

    • Offering instore recycling of pill blister packs, return of unused medicines, and recycling of other pharmacy related items where appropriate.

    • Remove single use plastics from our stores by 2025.

    • Choosing sustainable products and services where possible throughout our supply chain. Targeting a 50% sustainable supply chain by 2030.

    • Minimizing printing, but where needed, using only 100% recycled or carbon neutral paper.

    • Minimising emission intensive transport options by actively encouraging use of bikes, public transport, electric and hybrid vehicles.

    • Minimising air travel through use of video conferencing options. Where we must travel, we will carbon offset all flights at point of purchase.

    • Educating our team and where possible our customers on sustainable practices.

    • Regularly reviewing and monitoring progress against this policy and fostering a culture of sustainable environmental care.

    • Sharing our sustainability actions, progress and credentials with the business team regularly.

    • Attaining carbon neutrality for the business by 2030.

    This policy was developed to meet our objective of being an environmentally responsible business, and to help us tread lightly on the environment in order to minimise our impact for the benefit of future generations. It will be reviewed annually as part of our annual business review and planning exercises.

Step 4: Ongoing Tracking

  • Regular Reporting: Publish sustainability reports to inform stakeholders, including customers of your commitment to sustainability and your progress.

    Transparent Metrics: Highlight key sustainability metrics like energy consumption, waste diversion rates, and emissions reductions.

  • Training Programs: Develop training programs to educate employees about sustainability practices.

    Engagement Initiatives: Encourage employees to actively contribute ideas and initiatives for sustainability.

Step 5: Moving to Carbon Neutrality

  • Carbon Offset Programs: Invest in carbon offset programs to balance your carbon emissions.

    Renewable Energy: Consider transitioning to renewable energy sources like solar or wind power.

    Energy Efficiency Measures: Implement energy efficiency measures to reduce emissions.

    Employee Engagement: Educate and engage your employees in carbon-neutral practices.

    Useful Resource: Green Moves can provide guidance on achieving carbon neutrality.

  • Short- and Long-Term Goals: Define short-term (1-3 years) and long-term (5-10 years) goals for achieving carbon neutrality.

    Consultation: Seek input from employees, customers, and sustainability experts when setting goals.

    Investment Planning: Develop a budget and action plan to achieve carbon neutrality.

Transforming your pharmacy into a sustainable and environmentally responsible establishment is a journey worth embarking upon.

By following the steps in this guide and embracing sustainable practices tailored to your pharmacy's unique needs, you can contribute to a healthier planet, enhance your brand reputation, and create a brighter future for generations to come. Sustainability is not just a choice; it's a responsibility we all share.

Get started! – as an AP Group client we’ve partnered with Green Moves to provide a free, no-obligation one hour chat with Greem Moves to discuss your efficiency and sustainability questions.  Prepare a list of questions and schedule your free chat when you can.

About Us

AP Group was established with a clear vision: to redefine how pharmacists sell their business by using advanced technology and end to end service.

Today, AP Group is the largest pharmacy brokerage in the country with offices throughout Australia. But we didn’t stop there. AP Group expanded to offer Finance Broking and Legal Services, so we can simplify the sales process from start to finish.

Our success is built upon ground-breaking technology, outstanding customer service, knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and a strategic approach to sales. The result? A seamless sales process and consistently higher sale prices.

At AP Group, our purpose is not only to create a more efficient and better way of doing business in the pharmacy industry but also to drive positive change and progress for the environment. We are proud to be a Certified Climate Active Carbon Neutral Organisation, committed to reducing our carbon footprint and leading the way in environmental sustainability.

Green Moves is a small privately-owned services company providing totally independent and fully qualified energy efficiency, sustainability, and carbon footprint services for small to medium businesses and residential sectors since 2009. We are highly experienced and take pride in providing thorough reports that are both easy to read and meaningful.

Our team of qualified assessors have helped many clients identify energy waste issues, reduce resource use, and identify practical, cost-effective solutions by providing appropriate, independent advice and guidance. We always aim to provide recommendations that are practical and make financial common sense.  

Green Moves walk the talk on sustainability and demonstrate this through becoming a certified B Corporation in 2015 and are certified by Climate Active as a Carbon Neutral organisation since 2020.