Managing biodiversity
AstraZeneca recognises the importance of long-term sustainable development, based on good financial, social and environmental performance. These foundations are the same as those underpinning the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

The CBD calls for a halt in biodiversity decline by 2010. Whilst there will always be a need for nature reserves and national parks where nature conservation is the prime objective, equally important is the integration of conservation with other land uses. AstraZeneca has started to develop local biodiversity action plans (BAPs) for its major landholdings, aimed at conserving, and if possible increasing, local biodiversity on and around the company’s properties worldwide. The maxim “think global act local” underlines the principle that conservation on a global scale (i.e. corporate level) is the sum of actions or projects implemented at a local or site level. Individual sites can contribute to the preservation and enhancement of local biodiversity by protecting natural habitats and creating or maintaining refuges and “green corridors” for flora and fauna. These activities are being integrated with everyday site activities, without compromising business operations or future site developments.

AstraZeneca’s R&D centre at Alderley Edge in the UK occupies a 156 ha parkland estate, which is managed using traditional methods involving, for example, livestock grazing rather than resorting to grass cutting or the use of herbicides. Such practices have encouraged and improved biodiversity and two areas of the site are recognised within the region as Sites of Biological Importance. A biodiversity database is available to support management of the estate, and can be accessed to provide detailed spatial information or temporal trends concerning biodiversity. All staff and visitors can also benefit from a series of guided walks and nature enthusiasts contribute to an annual wildlife report, which chronicles the success of biodiversity management alongside activities such as building developments on site. Further afield, biodiversity surveys have been completed on production sites at Dunkerque in France and Gärtuna in Sweden in 2004, at Charnwood R&D centre in the UK and at Carolina and Canóvanas manufacturing sites in Puerto Rico in 2005, at Avishkar R&D and Yelahanka production sites in Bangalore, India in 2006 and at production sites in Wuxi, China and Cairo, Egypt in 2007. The results of these surveys have been very encouraging and a wide variety of habitats and species have been recorded, including some rarer species of birds and mammals, some of whose populations have declined dramatically in Europe e.g. Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio).

Information gathered from these surveys provides a baseline for environmental impact assessments to support future site development, and enables conservation measures to be targeted in areas where they will be most beneficial. Rather than being seen as a conflicting interest, biodiversity conservation is viewed as an essential element in maintaining a site’s “licence to operate”.

Bio discovery
AstraZeneca’s Natural Product Discovery project, which was completed at the end of 2007, has made a significant contribution to the documentation of biodiversity in the terrestrial and marine environment. For example, plant species that were thought to be endangered or rare have been shown to have a wider distribution than was previously suspected in the Australian rainforests. In addition, of the 3,000 or more species of marine invertebrates collected for the project by the Queensland Museum, approximately 70% are believed to be new to science. Comprehensive species inventories are essential for effective management (“protection”) and ecologically sustainable development (“conservation”) of Australia’s diverse environment.

Discovery of new drugs from nature (biodiscovery) has involved the collection of flora and fauna samples from a variety of Australian, Papua New Guinean and Chinese ecosystems including rainforests, deserts, woodlands and alpine regions and marine invertebrate fauna from the Great Barrier Reef and Tasmania. Experts from the Queensland Herbarium, Queensland Museum, Aquenal Ltd (Tasmania), Biodiversity Ltd (PNG), and Zi Yuan Medicine company (China) performed sampling in order to minimise any impact on these sensitive ecosystems. Tissue samples of only 100 grams or less were required for processing by AstraZeneca and Griffith University. If the material was deemed to have sufficient pharmaceutical potential, subsequent scientific effort could be focused on culturing or biochemical synthesis in order to avoid depleting the natural resource.

Land use
We strive to operate and manage our facilities in a manner that minimises impact on people and the environment. Our main impact on land is through our manufacturing and research activities and at some AstraZeneca facilities operations date back as long as 100 years. New facilities are selected and designed with care to minimise their environmental impact and promote sound land management policies.

In connection with development projects on major sites, soil surveys are carried out during pre-project planning. The results of these supplementary surveys form the basis of decisions concerning the construction of buildings and other facilities, as well as disposal methods for any surplus soil arising during construction. Land investigations at all existing AstraZeneca sites and/or its affiliates have environmental liabilities. Please see our Annual Report and Form 20-F for information about these.

Water use
All of our facilities use water and subsequently discharge wastewater to be treated either on site or by municipalities. We measure both the total volume used and the load that our effluents, primarily from R&D and manufacturing activities, place on the aquatic environment.

At the end of 2007 we had 24 manufacturing facilities located in 19 countries worldwide. Nine of these sites are located in countries classified as having ‘high’ or ‘medium’ water stress by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The table below gives some examples of actions being taken locally.
About 13% of the total amount of water we use globally is from areas with water scarcity, and we recognise our responsibility to use water wisely.

In 2007, our overall water use amounted to 4.8 million cubic metres, a decrease of 7% compared to 2006. The total cost of water used by the company in 2007 is estimated at $7.1 million.

The reference point for change is 2006.  The figures in the table above have been rounded.  Please note that percentage changes have been calculated using the data prior to rounding.