Sustainable Environment

PharmaEssentia promulgated the Environmental Health and Safety Policy in 2018 to ensure employee health and safety, protect the environment, and prevent disasters. Environmental management is implemented through greenhouse gas management procedures, waste management procedures, chemical hazard management procedures, and other procedural documents. Additionally, our Taichung Plant has incorporated the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System to mitigate environmental impacts, enhance environmental management efficiency, and reduce negative environmental impacts from production and operational processes.

Environmental Management Indicators and Investments

PharmaEssentia established environmental management indicators in response to potential environmental impacts from production processes and regularly invests in pollution control and waste treatment processes. We continue to track progress, respond to government environmental regulatory requirements and external audit requirements, and optimize management actions. Our Taichung Plant incorporated the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System in 2024 and formed a promotion team composed of members from related units. The team is responsible for executing management system processes, undergoing education and training, carrying out risk assessments, and adopting response measures. A third-party verification statement was obtained from SGS in December 2024. In terms of greenhouse gas management, our Taichung Plant and Taipei Headquarters have both incorporated the ISO 14064-1:2018 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management System. We completed external verifications for 2023 greenhouse gas inventories at year-end 2024 and have obtained a third-party verification statement. Greenhouse gas inventories for 2024 are currently ongoing. PharmaEssentia has formulated short, medium, and long term management targets for greenhouse gases, energy, and waste, and has adopted measures to enhance energy and waste handling efficiency in response to global market and production capacity demands, and to reduce environmental burdens from production processes.

In terms of waste management and air pollution management, PharmaEssentia invested NT$9.39 million in environmental costs (including pollution prevention equipment, biopharmaceutical waste treatment, management activities, and pollution prevention) in 2024, an increase of 71% compared to the previous year; NT$6.23 million was used on PEG air pollution prevention process equipment, which reduced emissions of air pollutants. In terms of water resource protection, our Taichung Plant regularly applies for water pollution prevention permits; production, operations, and reports are completed in accordance with these permits, and regular sample test report results all adhered to standard limits.

Climate and Nature Actions

Enterprises are facing severe challenges due to impacts from global climate change, and the risks and challenges caused by climate change are significantly impacting corporate value chains. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) proposed the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in 2017, providing a set of guidelines to help enterprises identify climate-related risks and opportunities. PharmaEssentia adopted the TCFD guidelines for the first time in 2022 to identify climate-related risks and opportunities and also used these guidelines in 2023 to further assess potential financial impacts caused by climate-related risks and opportunities under different scenarios. We conducted ISO 14064- 1:2018 organizational greenhouse gas inventories to respond and adapt to climate change from a carbon management perspective. PharmaEssentia climate actions and implementations associated with the four aspects of climate governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets according to TCFD guidelines are detailed below. In 2024, PharmaEssentia determined that there were no major changes to internal operations and external environments. We therefore continued to use the climate-related risks and opportunities identified in 2023, and updated related indicators and targets using results achieved in 2024. We plan to re-identify climate-related risks and opportunities in 2025.

• Governance: Supervision and Management of Climate Issues by the Board of Directors and Senior Executives

  The Board of Directors is the highest climate governance unit at PharmaEssentia, and is responsible for supervising and formulating strategies associated with climate change from a sustainable development perspective, as well as responding to domestic and foreign net zero initiatives. The Board has authorized the Executive Center for Corporate Sustainability and the Environmentally Friendly Team to promote climate change management actions. Executive units include the environmental safety department and related responsible units such as the R&D, production, logistics, warehousing, and engineering departments, which all implement different tasks. The environmental safety department convenes biweekly meetings/factory meetings each month and reports project progress to senior managers. The Executive Center for Corporate Sustainability presents ESG project progress reports to the Board every quarter.

  

• Strategy: PharmaEssentia Global Climate Strategies

  To assess impacts on organizational operations from short, medium, and long term climate-related risks and opportunities, PharmaEssentia and external consultants conducted manager interviews, surveys, and discussions with managers from related departments to identify climate-related risks and opportunities, and also conducted discussions with responsible departments to actively formulate solutions.

  

Short, Medium, and Long Term Climate Risks and Opportunities Matrix

PharmaEssentia’s climate risk management strategy is focused on management and adaptation of relatively significant climate risks over the short term (1-3 years), using management actions to reduce medium to long term risk impacts, and formulating possibilities for climate opportunities.

PharmaEssentia’s identified short term climate risks include “raw material shortage pressures,” “greenhouse gas management and carbon fee levies,” and necessary preparations for “legally required net zero carbon emission targets.” We therefore prioritized management of these three risks. Medium and long term climate risks include “legally required renewable energy usage proportions” and “uncertainties in new energy and carbon reduction technologies”; we plan to observe conditions associated with these risks which are likely to occur in the medium to long term, and confirm whether immediate management is required for these risks when conducting assessments next year. In terms of climate opportunities, our Taichung Plant identified “carbon reduction benefits from resource efficiency enhancements” as a climate opportunity. We are also planning to upgrade our current energy-saving equipment and use energy-saving equipment at our new factories.

Analysis of Financial Impacts from Climate Change

After considering organizational and operational impacts from the aforementioned climate-related risks and opportunities, PharmaEssentia actively formulated related responses and adaptation actions to enhance climate resilience. We continued to conduct ISO 14064-1:2018 organizational inventory processes in 2024 to build a solid foundation for future carbon management capabilities.

In response to the aforementioned financial analyses, we compiled the following climate-related risk and opportunity topics, and formulated PharmaEssentia’s key response strategies as well as responses for all departments as follows:

• Risk Management

  2.3 Risk Management described our corporate risk management mechanisms encompassing corresponding responses to different risk categories, thereby lowering corporate impacts from said risks. This section further describes our management mechanisms and actions toward climate risks based on TCFD framework guidelines.

  

• Metrics and Targets

  The biopharmaceutical industry’s main climate change response actions are focused on carbon reduction. To achieve the aforementioned targets, PharmaEssentia also strives to reduce carbon emissions at all stages. We have incorporated ISO 14064-1 greenhouse gas inventory standards, regularly insventory greenhouse gas emissions at all operational sites, manage key climate metrics, and have already disclosed Scope 3 inventory data. PharmaEssentia continues to evaluate whether the climate risks and actions for each year require updated responses. We also actively invest in research of diseases caused by climate change, and work to find more solutions at the source through medical research.

  

Operational Sites and Biodiversity Conservation

PharmaEssentia’s production base (Taichung Plant) is located in the Central Taiwan Science Park Taichung Science Park. We are currently constructing our Zhubei Plant in the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park and formulating plans to construct our Houli Plant at the Central Taiwan Science Park Houli Science Park (7th Redevelopment Zone section). These three factories are not located in environmental protection areas or protected species/species restoration habitats and therefore do not have direct biodiversity impacts. PharmaEssentia continues to track local environmental and conservation issues through the Central Taiwan Science Park Sustainable Development website, and is also considering support for conservation and environmental actions. We continue to sponsor Jane Goodall Institute charity projects and has helped more schoolchildren enhance biodiversity and conservation awareness in 2024 as part of our contribution to biodiversity issues.

• PharmaEssentia Biodiversity and No Deforestation Commitment

Energy Usage

PharmaEssentia’s energy consumption mainly stems from purchased electricity and natural gas. Our total energy usage volumes increased in 2024, mainly as production volumes increased compared to 2023. We continue to improve energy efficiency in production processes and are considering investments in energy-saving equipment, including but not limited to purchasing suspension chillers, variable frequency air compressors, and energy-efficient equipment to reduce energy consumption and comply with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements stipulating that production environments should maintain certain cleanliness and quality control standards. PharmaEssentia’s specific achievements in 2023-2024 included phasing out air compressors and installing energy-saving chillers. Total investments amounted to NT$5.5 million, and we reduced energy usage by 158,000 kWh, equivalent to 78.07 tCO2e in emissions.

Data coverage: includes PharmaEssentia Taiwan and Panco Healthcare

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

PharmaEssentia’s largest greenhouse gas emission source is Scope 2 purchased electricity. Following commercialization of our new drugs in global markets, overall sales and production volumes in 2024 continued to grow, and total electricity usage also grew accordingly. Energy intensity and greenhouse gas emission intensity decreased by 32% and 43% compared to the previous year. PharmaEssentia’s Taipei Headquarters and Taichung Plant conducted ISO 14061-1 greenhouse gas inventories and obtained third-party verification of 2023 greenhouse gas emissions data in 2024. We are currently working to obtain greenhouse gas emissions verifications for 2024. Greenhouse gas inventory results will be used as a reference for continued improvement of energy efficiency to achieve our target of lowering greenhouse gas emission intensities.

Scope 1 and 2 Emissions

Note 1. Data coverage: includes PharmaEssentia Taiwan
Note 2. Since 2024, PharmaEssentia Taiwan has implemented ISO 14064-1 greenhouse gas inventories with external verifications.

Scope 3 Emissions

Note 1. Data coverage: includes PharmaEssentia Taiwan
Note 2. Since 2024, PharmaEssentia Taiwan has implemented ISO 14064-1 greenhouse gas inventories with external verifications.

Data coverage: includes PharmaEssentia Taiwan

• T2024-512 PharmaEssentia Co., Ltd. Taichung Branch - Audit Result Notice
• PharmaEssentia Corp. Taipei GHG- Audit Result Notice

Water Withdrawal, Water Discharge, and Recycled Water

Water used at PharmaEssentia’s operational sites in Taiwan and Panco were all sourced from tap water. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI) water risk mapping tool, our operational sites were all located in areas with low to moderate water stress in 2024. Our Taichung Plant is our main production site, and our water consumption included water used for production processes and domestic usage; wastewater was discharged through the Central Taiwan Science Park Taichung Science Park sewage treatment plant. Every year, in accordance with Ministry of Environment regulations, our Taichung Plant commissions testing institutes certified by the Ministry of Environment Environmental Management Administration to conduct water quality tests on discharged water every six months to ensure compliance with Ministry of Environment and Central Taiwan Science Park Administration discharge standards. In 2024, total water withdrawal volumes at our Taipei Headquarters and Taichung Plant both increased compared to the previous year, mainly as overall production volumes increased, and we added water withdrawal volumes from the Taipei Bioinnovation Park and expansions on the 18th and 19th floors into water withdrawal data for our Taipei Headquarters.

PharmaEssentia continues to improve water management measures, and our Taichung Plant recycles process RO brine and wastewater for use in air-conditioner cooling towers to enhance water reuse efficiency. In 2024, we recycled 9.72 million liters of water, an increase of 46.8% compared to 2023.

Water  Resources Used at PharmaEssentia's Main Operational Sites

Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Discharge Management Indicators

The quality of water discharged from our Taichung Plant is tested every six months in accordance with Ministry of Environment regulations by a testing institute certified by the Environmental Protection Administration. Test results for 2024 all adhered to regulation standards. Additionally, discharged water is appropriately treated at the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration Taichung Science Park sewage treatment plant before discharge. The discharged water adheres to wastewater treatment system standards for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry set by the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration. In 2024, the quality of water discharged from our Taichung Plant adhered to regulated items and limits and therefore did not raise any significant environmental pollution concerns.

Taichung Plant Water Discharge Management

Data coverage: includes PharmaEssentia Taiwan and Panco Healthcare

Prevention of Air Pollution

PharmaEssentia does not use or discharge ozone-depleting substances (ODS) listed in the Montreal Protocol or any persistent organic pollutants (POPs). We conduct regular tests and file reports on fixed air pollution sources in accordance with Ministry of Environment regulations, and test results showed that all of our discharged air pollutants were lower than regulated values. Due to global commercial sales needs and increases in total production volumes, our overall discharge volumes have increased but are still lower than regulation amounts. PharmaEssentia did not violate any air pollution regulations in 2024.

PharmaEssentia Volumes of Main Discharged Gases

Waste Management

PharmaEssentia’s waste mainly encompasses general industrial waste from production and manufacturing, as well as small amounts of chemicals used for R&D and experiments. We manage waste in accordance with regulations to prevent legal violations and environmental pollution risks from improper treatment. We also keep informed of trends in environmental protection laws, reduce waste at the source through R&D, adjust process designs, and improve material usage rates as part of our environmental protection implementations. We are gradually establishing a global footprint, and our production capacity and efficiency are also continuing to improve. We continue to reduce waste volumes and improve unit output efficiency, aiming to lower unit waste output volumes and intensities. We adhere to short, medium, and long term targets and action pathways to refine our management guidelines and implement management actions.

Waste Generation and Treatment

PharmaEssentia reviewed waste generation, disposal, treatment, recycling, and other processes from a product life cycle perspective, and carefully recorded input material amounts and generated waste amounts. We also commissioned a qualified third-party waste treatment company to handle our waste.

Generated Waste Volumes

We are gradually establishing a global footprint, and our production capacity and efficiency are also continuing to improve. We continue to reduce waste volumes and improve unit output efficiency, aiming to lower unit waste output volumes and intensities. We adhere to short, medium, and long term targets and action pathways to refine our management guidelines and implement management actions. PharmaEssentia’s waste reuse and recycling volumes continued to grow in 2024, increasing by 10.28% compared to 2023. Our waste intensity in 2024 declined by 51% compared to the previous year, and has decreased year by year.

Data coverage: includes PharmaEssentia Taiwan and Panco Healthcare

Data coverage: includes PharmaEssentia Taiwan and Panco Healthcare