The British Standards Institution (BSI) has published PAS 2090:2025, the first international standard defining how to conduct product-level life cycle assessments (LCAs) for pharmaceutical products. The standard provides a credible, consistent and science-based framework for measuring and comparing environmental performance across medicines and health technologies.
Developed in collaboration with the Pharma LCA Consortium, NHS England, the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) and the Pharmaceutical LCA Consortium working together with the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Health Systems Taskforce and the Pharmaceutical Environment Group (PEG). The Consortium includes AstraZeneca; GSK; Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine; Merck KGaA; Merck, Sharp & Dohme, Inc.; Novartis; Novo Nordisk; Pfizer; Roche; Sanofi; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; and SLR as project management entity sponsored the development of PAS 2090. This standard establishes Product Category Rules (PCRs). This creates a shared foundation for credible LCAs, helping the sector meet growing regulatory and stakeholder expectations.
Key features include:
- Product Category Rules tailored to pharmaceutical products and processes
- Applicability to both full life cycle and Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) assessments
- Flexibility to address diverse use cases across the healthcare value chain
As the appointed technical author, Quantis drafted the standard on behalf of BSI, guiding a multi-stakeholder process that brought together global pharmaceutical companies, healthcare systems, regulators and academics.
PAS 2090 marks a pivotal step toward sustainable pharma — establishing a unified, science-based foundation for environmental impact assessment and ecodesign across the global pharma industry.
