SK Pharmteco
Commitment to Measurement: Sustainability Summit Diamond Sponsor SK pharmteco interview
As the pharmaceutical industry gathers in Milan for CPHI 2026 and the inaugural CPHI Milan Sustainability Summit, the spotlight turns to companies transforming sustainability from aspiration into measurable action. Among the Summit’s key sponsors is SK pharmteco, a global CDMO that has positioned ESG excellence at the core of its operations.
In this exclusive interview, we speak with Darryl Ratty, Executive Director, Global ESG at SK pharmteco, a leader who has been instrumental indriving the company’s ambitious sustainability agenda. Under his guidance, SK pharmteco has achieved significant milestones, including Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validation for its 2040 Net-Zero targets – confirming that the company's decarbonisation strategy aligns with the strict 1.5°C pathway required to combat global climate change.
Can you elaborate on what SK Pharmteco’s approach to sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing?
DR: "For us, sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing is about designing sustainability into the way we operate rather than treating it as a separate initiative. Safety, quality, operational excellence, and sustainability all have to work together.
As a global CDMO, our responsibility is to help our customers bring medicines to patients while reducing the environmental footprint of manufacturing. That means looking at everything from energy and greenhouse gas emissions to solvent use, waste reduction, water stewardship, and process efficiency.
We're also focused on partnering with customers much earlier in development. The earlier sustainability is considered, the greater the opportunity to optimise processes, improve yields, recover materials, and reduce emissions before products reach commercial scale.
Ultimately, sustainability isn't about doing less – it's about manufacturing smarter."
What specific sustainability initiatives or technologies will SK Pharmteco be highlighting at the inaugural CPHI Milan Sustainability Summit?
DR: "We'll be sharing several examples where sustainability is delivering measurable operational benefits.
One area is our Solvent Sustainability Programme, where we're working with customers to reduce solvent consumption through process optimisation, reuse, and recovery. In many cases we're seeing lower emissions alongside lower operating costs, which demonstrates that sustainability and business performance can reinforce one another.
We'll also discuss our Science Based Targets initiative, our roadmap toward reducing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, renewable electricity initiatives across our global network, and the work we're doing around product carbon footprint capability.
Beyond individual projects, we'll be highlighting how collaboration with customers is becoming one of the biggest drivers of sustainable innovation. Some of the most impactful opportunities only happen when CDMOs and pharmaceutical companies work together from the beginning."
What types of conversations and partnerships are you hoping to establish during the Summit and at CPHI Milan?
DR: "I think the industry has reached a point where sustainability is becoming much more collaborative.
We're hoping to have conversations with customers who want to integrate sustainability into new product introductions rather than waiting until commercial manufacturing. We're also interested in engaging with technology providers, equipment manufacturers, solvent recovery specialists, and renewable energy partners who can help accelerate progress across the industry.
Importantly, I'd also like to see greater collaboration between CDMOs themselves. Many of the challenges we face – whether that's decarbonisation, circularity or supply chain resilience – are shared across the industry.
The Summit provides a great opportunity to move beyond discussing challenges and start identifying practical solutions that organisations can implement together."
How do you measure and demonstrate ‘measurable progress’ in sustainability, beyond traditional messaging?
DR: "For us, credibility comes from data.
We measure progress against science-based targets, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable electricity, solvent reduction, waste generation, safety performance, and resource efficiency. Those metrics are tracked internally and increasingly shared with our customers as part of our partnerships.
Equally important is demonstrating that sustainability delivers operational value. If a project reduces solvent consumption by hundreds of thousands of litres, lowers emissions and saves money at the same time, that's tangible evidence that sustainable manufacturing is good business.
Ultimately, customers are looking for transparency, consistency and evidence—not marketing claims—and that's exactly where we're focused."
Following the Sustainability Summit, what concrete actions or commitments do you hope will emerge from these discussions?
DR: "I'd like to see the industry leave Milan with a stronger commitment to collaboration.
No single organisation can transform pharmaceutical manufacturing on its own. The greatest progress will come from customers, CDMOs, suppliers and technology partners working together around shared goals.
I'd also like to see more organisations move from high-level sustainability ambitions to practical implementation—whether that's developing lower-carbon manufacturing processes, increasing material circularity, improving product carbon footprint transparency or accelerating renewable energy adoption.
If the conversations at CPHI result in new partnerships, new pilot projects and shared innovation that ultimately helps reduce the environmental impact of medicines, then I think the Summit will have achieved exactly what it set out to do."