Around the world, millions of people with chronic diseases depend on medical devices. Once used, many of these devices end up in landfills or are incinerated, wasting tonnes of valuable materials that could be recycled. As the number of people dependent on our solutions increases, so does our obligation to help address some of the related environmental issues: climate change, resource scarcity, pollution - and plastic waste.
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We have committed to reaching net zero CO2 emissions in 2045 across our full value chain. To get there, we must do our part to minimise the use of virgin fossil-based plastic. We are working to reduce our consumption of plastic and change the plastics we use to non-virgin fossil types. We’re also finding new ways to avoid waste by turning it into something useful again. ReMed™ is an innovative testament to that commitment.
ReMed™ is built on the success of our local take back pilot programs, enabling pen users to return their used pens to give the plastic a new life.
We work on expanding the programme globally to reach more people, and with every injection pen collected and recycled through the support of our patients and partners, we’re one step closer to our ambition of zero environmental impact.
Yes, ReMed™ is the overarching programme name now used to describe all take-back pilot initiatives in Novo Nordisk. As of December 2023, ReMed™ consists of take-back pilots in Denmark, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil and Japan. As we expand ReMed™ to reach more countries and people, going forward, the new pilot initiatives will be named ReMed™.
As the number of people depending on our solutions increase, so does our obligation to help address some of the related environmental issues: climate change, resource scarcity, pollution - and plastic waste. As part of our ambition to achieve net-zero emissions across our entire value chain by 2045, we’re working to find new ways to avoid waste by turning it into useful resources again. ReMed™ is an innovative testament to that commitment.
Around the world, millions of people with chronic diseases depend on medical injection pens. Once used, many of the injection pens end up in landfills or are incinerated, wasting tonnes of valuable materials that could be recycled. That’s why, as part of our wider environmental commitment, we’re finding ways to avoid waste by turning it into useful resources again. ReMed™ is an innovative testament to that commitment.
Current guidance varies from country to country, but often, used pens end up in general household waste and ultimately in landfills or incineration plants, which is far from an optimal solution. That’s why we’re joining forces with patients, patient organisations, pharmacies, authorities, and industry partners to collect and recycle the valuable materials, making them available for use in other products.
Depending on local market guidance and rules and how the local take back initiative can be developed, users currently either return their injection pens to their pharmacy or mail them back directly.
Please directly check the instructions on the local websites of the pilots in Brazil, France, Japan, United Kingdom and Denmark.
Unfortunately, no. For the moment, only the patients in countries where Novo Nordisk is running a take-back initiative can return their injection pens: Brazil, Denmark, France, Japan and the UK.
Once an injection pen is returned, it’s transported to our recycling partner. Here, the pen is crushed and separated into different material fractions that undergo a series of processes to prepare the materials for new uses.
We are paying a lot of attention to this by applying the circular economy principles, and company-wide working to ensure circular economy becomes a reality. The important thing is to ensure the materials contribute to products designed to last and that we, through recycling the material, are reducing the need for fossil based non-recycled materials. Together, this ensures that we help reduce the demand for more resources and make the most of the ones we already have.
