We’re Minimising Our Environmental Impact.

Making medicines requires the use of valuable resources including energy, water and raw materials. We’re committed to continually improving our environmental impact across our product life cycles and supply chain – with a focus on addressing climate change, waste and water security.

You can read more about Lilly’s ambitious 2030 environmental goals here.

Our Commitment to the Environment in Ireland

Since we arrived in Ireland in 1978, the company has been committed to respecting our local environment. To deliver on our commitment, we’ve established environmental programmes across all sites to monitor the quality of the ambient air, the flora and fauna and the local marine habitat.

Kinsale

At Lilly Kinsale, reducing energy usage is a top priority. In July 2021, our solar farm was officially opened by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, T.D., with Lilly Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David A. Ricks. Comprising of 12,600 individual panels, the ground-mounted solar farm will produce up to 5.6MW of power and at the time, it was the single largest solar farm in the Republic of Ireland. This has allowed Lilly to reduce its annual carbon footprint at the site by 2,350 tonnes. The16-acre installation will help power a significant proportion of the Kinsale manufacturing facility with sustainable energy.

Sustainable travel is another focus, and the company has put a lot a lot of effort into finding alternative ways to get people to work, instead of driving. In early 2023, Lilly Kinsale introduced a bus service travelling to the campus from Cork city, which has been so successful, we recently launched a second route.

At our request, a study of the Kinsale Harbour has been independently maintained by the National University of Ireland, Galway for over thirty years. It is now one of the longest-term studies of marine coastline and habitat conducted anywhere in the world and it demonstrates that our manufacturing operations have not adversely impacted on marine life over that period.

Lilly employees play a critical role too. The Kinsale ‘Live4Life’ programme – which focuses on Safety, Fitness, Health, and Wellbeing - relies on employee involvement and leadership for its success. A dedicated group of employees have established an environmental sustainability team that is focused on conserving and enhancing biodiversity, reducing the use of commodities, and minimising waste, promoting green travel, and building awareness on more sustainable living. In the last 12 months, they’ve spearheaded a plastic recycling initiative, partnering with a company in Ireland, to repurpose recycled plastic into a raw material used for benches and planters, diverting a significant proportion of what would otherwise be waste plastic, to make 570 garden benches and planters.

GBS Cork

GBS Cork remains dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint. Through the provision of subsidised public and private transportation schemes and car-pooling initiatives, and the recent addition of EV charging stations, we're continuing to take steps towards cleaner and greener motoring to and from our Little Island campus.

As our campus has grown, so too has our usage of renewable solar energy, while single-use plastic cups are no longer permitted onsite. Instead, employees and visitors are presented with reusable cups-for-life and all takeaway food containers are biodegradable.

Limerick

Lilly has a longstanding commitment to sustainability and respecting the local environment. Lilly Limerick has already developed a comprehensive plan for the management of the protected species of Meadow Barley (Hordeum secalinum) plant which is growing on the Raheen site.

The Lilly Limerick campus design also includes plans for a significant solar energy investment. Based on current design estimates, Limerick is estimated to produce 3.17 million kWh of renewable solar energy per year, which is enough to power 755 homes in Ireland.

As part of Lilly’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, the engineering design of the site and facility has two key focus areas for the responsible management of water. The site design includes an array of cisterns that will harvest rainwater for re-use within the site, resulting in a saving of roughly 2 million litres of water per annum.