Sustainable Medical Packaging with Nathalie Thys / GSK

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalie-thys-51a0573a/

https://us.gsk.com/en-us/behind-the-science-us-edition/

Thank you Nathalie Thys for making some time at Paris Packaging Week to be on this show. I truly appreciated your insights. 

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Transcript

Cory Connors: 0:31

Sustainable packaging with Cory Connors. We are live from Paris Packaging Week. Thank you Easyfairs for providing this wonderful room and space to record. Today's guest is Natalie Thys from GlaxoSmith Klein. She's the director of sustainability. Great to meet you. Nice to meet you too. Thanks for being on the show. We appreciate it. Thank you. Can you tell us a little bit about your

Nathalie Thys: 0:54

background? Oh, yes.. Oh, well, my background is scientific background. I'm, I'm a microbiologist. Mm. I'm engineer. But basically I spent 10 years in IOL production. Spent 10 years in iol I would say fusions, and then I moved into ehs. So environment, health and safety. Yeah. And recently, I, well I, I'm testing a new role, sustainability director. Cause we had a great ambition in sustainability.

Cory Connors: 1:28

Well, that seems to be a common story for many, many companies. Is a new role, someone new or someone from the company taking the reigns of sustainable practices how are you finding it so far?

Nathalie Thys: 1:42

Well, I think it's it's a complex role because, you know, in sustainability, very often we are talking on either packaging or energy or . But in fact you have a lot of different areas to come. Sustainability is a very ambitious Yes. Scope, you know? Right. So basically a lot of companies are working mainly on energy cause it's the most visible. We can talk about emission. So you can reduce your remission. So that's the importance. But when we we want really to work on sustainability, we have not only to try to reduce something. Yeah. We have to think differently and try to be a little bit more disruptive. Yes. And that's probably the reason why we also have to move into innovation. Trying to find another way of. Thinking our products. Yes. In order to be a, to be present in the market.

Cory Connors: 2:46

That's a great point. And people often talk about energy consumption in or the type of energy that you're using. Yes. Is it clean energy? Is it wind, is it solar? Is it maybe thermo?, and it's an easy thing to. Whereas for packaging, maybe it's a little more of a challenge to say, are we more sustainable this year than we were last year? Is that what you're finding? Yes.

Nathalie Thys: 3:10

And that, that's a good, good point. There are some metrics which are very common, right? Easy to use. Is it to understand? And you mentioned the energy, and that's correct. When you did the same with water. When you're talking about the biodiversity, for example, it's a little bit more tricky, right? It's difficult. And when you are talking about carbon footprint for packaging, right? Hmm. It's also a bit difficult. Yes. And I think one of it is changing, but initially one of the crucial points was really to the global picture. And not only. A specific point when you're talking about packaging we, we are sometimes focusing on how the car, the leaflets or the label. Right? But you have to have a little picture. Where is it sourced? Yeah. How we be? It be I don't know, put into waste, what can we do with the waste? So you have to really with the full picture and that's that's a big challenge. Yes. That's challenge. People very often focus on some is really difficult to measure. You're right.

Cory Connors: 4:22

And those, those rules and regulations change not only in every country, but in every area of certain countries. Like for example, in the USA we have 50 different states and the laws are different even down to the counties in the states. I'm assuming you're having the same issues here. Yeah., Nathalie Thys: yeah. We have in France, but also because we are exporting some our, some of our volumes we have, so we. But other different regulations. But in sustainability, I can say in the last, well, the last years, maybe the last two or three years I would say since the cut 26, the number of regulations increased is new lowly and Some are really aligned between countries and some make really difference fighting, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Nathalie Thys: 5:21

Maybe not fighting, but some, some countries are maybe more focusing on VOC oh, yes. Mm-hmm. And others are more, more focusing on greenhouse gases or on other substances. So sometimes it is not. It's not fighting. It's, it's just not focusing exactly on the same topic so you can think it's not fully aligned. 100 aligns

Cory Connors: 5:48

and maybe fighting is a bad choice of words. What I meant was pushing against each other whereas the laws aren't. In alignment and it, you know, kind of debates with within each other's countries and cities. So you are, you're a global company. Yes, we are. You are exporting from Europe to all over. Yes,

Nathalie Thys: 6:10

exactly. Exactly. We are our headquarters, sorry, in the uk so we are. UK company. Yes. But the prediction we have located here in France are sold in above 120 countries. Wow. So yes, we have different, different regulations

Cory Connors: 6:31

and we were talking about before we recording. That it's medical packaging mostly. Yeah. Is that, so can you talk about that a little bit? What kinds of packaging?

Nathalie Thys: 6:40

Well, very often packaging is packaging, which is simple, easy to understand. Yeah. With no specific things just to it's not fashion, it's , you know, it's just something which is for the patient. Right. So with a clear name, what the dosage age and,

Cory Connors: 6:58

Must be clear. Must be Yes. Clean must be virgin materials. Yes. You can't use pcr? Well,

Nathalie Thys: 7:06

no. For some what, what we not on the primary and secondary packaging. Right. For the complex, for example, big boxes, yeah. Yes. We are thinking about having maybe recycled platforms. Great. And that's feasible. But for, for the primary and secondary packaging, it's complex. That's

Cory Connors: 7:25

an excellent topic to discuss, I think, is for medical packaging. It's very difficult to be sustainable because of these laws, but when you're talking about this, The, the tertiary packaging, you know, the, the corrugated or, or the, the stretch film or the palace. We can look at more sustainable options for that.

Nathalie Thys: 7:45

Exactly. Let's to be, to be clear, we can also do things on the, the packaging itself. One of the going to be, we develop this to switch from print. Oh. Packaging, for example, from printed leaflet to deal leaflet. So, so we can't change really the

Cory Connors: 8:07

packaging, add a QR code or something? Yes. Yeah. We

Nathalie Thys: 8:11

can have things switch are a bit limited. So we move from printed leaflet, especially from doctors to e leaflet. So these are kinda things we have implemented,

Cory Connors: 8:22

which is easier for a consumer to use anyway. Oftentimes, you know, the, the print on some of those leaflets is so small and it's in 17 different languages. You, you unfold it to your language and it's so small. You have to, you have a microscope. Yeah.. Nathalie Thys: And, and, and only change at the leaflet, you know, some countries are, Specifically flex? Not for the patient, but for the doctor itself, right, himself. So for the doctor we moved from, But yeah, it's difficult to change, but all the people, all the patients have smartphone or computer. Right. And maybe not even all the doctors do depending on the countries that you're servicing. Sure. Very true. Interesting to think about that. Yes. Any maybe projects that you're working on that you're excited about?

Nathalie Thys: 9:19

Well, the we, we have two different big areas. I, I will not speak about energy. I think a lot of companies are exactly in the same position. Yeah. But especially for the pharmaceutical industry because we manufacture bio source. So MPIs metric errors oh yeah. Yeah. We as a. The pharmaceutical industries, manufacturing, we use gas, which are Which may have a greenhouse effect. And so one of the biggest project is to move from the gas, which has g greenhouse gas effect. Yeah. To more sustainable gas. Something more inert. Yeah. Yes. And that's something which is really a challenge. because we want to do that in a very short term. In a couple of years, we would, we would like to be reading in 2025. Yeah. Which is a very big challenge because in the pharmaceutical industry, the time needed product and change is, It's long . Yes. Long. And the second the second group area is also to work with our suppliers and also our waste managers. Oh, okay. To try to more small, friendly performance but also try to find how to recycle. Some of our waste and that's, these are very big challenges too.

Cory Connors: 10:50

Well, and it's an uphill battle, but I think you're, you're going to win. I do. I think the, the, we have to, right? Yeah. I have to.

Nathalie Thys: 11:00

Very often we say we have to save the planet. Yeah, no. I'm not afraid. I'm not scared that I'm told for the planet, the planet will survive. The question is, we as human being, will we be on the planet, right? And for me, that's, we have to protect the planet. We do not have choice if we want to be there, , if our children.

Cory Connors: 11:22

Very true. That's it. Well, and there's a company called Scrap. I don't know if you've heard of them. S C r A P P, my friend Mikey, as one of the founders, they're working on a system in hospitals where they're separating the materials. So they can be recycled more easily. Mm-hmm.. So that might be something that you wanna partner with them Yes. To have your primary packaging so the doctor and nurse could put it in that correct bin and then all of those materials could be collected. Yes. Because oftentimes they're virgin materials very good. To be recycled. It just needs to be sorted correctly. Exactly.. Nathalie Thys: and that's, and, lot of education sometimes. That's a lot of education and discipline. Yes. That's, that's maybe more the, well, the most important point of French people. You know, we are not so famous discipline, but we have to be disciplined and we are, we have also to, to know why we are doing that. Excellent. Understand. Very true. Important to know. To have a real reason, not just, oh, we should recycle cuz it's good. Yeah. But what if we could relate that to, to make it for the person that's doing it, you know, give them a, a deposit scheme or something like that where they're getting paid to, to do it, you know. Yes.

Nathalie Thys: 12:47

I think I think for sustainability and for other points too, but for sustainability things have to be, to make sense. Yep. It does, doesn't make sense. It'll be difficult for people to really accept it, to put that waste in that bill and the other one. Maybe elsewhere. Yep. And, and that's, that's a point I would say I hope that for sustainable and people will understand everything and will also be optimistic and positive. I'm, I'm a bit . Well, it's, it's a bit boring how Yes. Earing so many so many discussion on sustainability. Some negative, which it's maybe too late or, no, it's a fantastic opportunity Yes. For, for a lot of music we need,

Cory Connors: 13:38

we need to do it now. Yeah, exactly.

Nathalie Thys: 13:41

Yeah. So I think we have to just change a little bit the mindsets and the. Yes. We have to innovate and try new and disruptive

Cory Connors: 13:52

innovation. I like that. And what a great way to end the show. Thank you so much. Oh, thank you. What's the best way to get in touch with you and gsk?

Nathalie Thys: 14:00

Well I think we are on LinkedIn. We are also on the social media. Yeah. So, Facebook,

Cory Connors: 14:08

I'll add those links to the bottom of the show notes. So yes if you're listening, you can, you can click on those. Thank you again, Natalie. This has been wonderful. Thank

Nathalie Thys: 14:16

you so much. Bye-bye.