AstraZeneca Launches Clean Heat Program for Supplier Network

AstraZeneca is launching a Clean Heat Program that targets heat generation at supplier facilities. The effort pairs the drug maker with supply-chain platform Secaro and sustainability firm ERM. The program begins with data collection on energy use, process temperatures, and fuel sources.

Secaro then produces site-specific road maps that start with efficiency steps and advance to heat pumps, biomass, or biomethane systems.

Pharmaceutical plants rely on steam and high-temperature processes that historically ran on natural gas. Recent price increases of 60 to 100 percent for gas and 40 percent for fertilizer have raised operating costs across the sector. AstraZeneca has already reduced its own Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 88 percent since 2015 and aims for a 98 percent cut by the end of 2026.

Most remaining emissions sit in Scope 3, which covers roughly 3,500 suppliers that account for 95 percent of the company's supply-chain spending.

Suppliers submit energy and process data, after which ERM advises on technology choices. Financing options include European public funds, private capital, and company-seeded pools repaid through energy savings. "The value today isn't just decarbonization—it's cost reduction, resilience, and stability," said Jon Hughes, a partner at ERM.

Emily Prior, chief growth officer at Secaro, noted that buyers now seek predictable pricing even when alternatives cost more. Rob Williams, AstraZeneca's senior director of sustainable procurement, said the focus must shift to the supply chain because that is where most emissions occur.

Industrial heat projects in Europe now show payback periods of five to seven years. In the United States, recent price spikes have improved project returns, according to the companies involved.