Vanguard Renewables Partners with AstraZeneca to Deliver RNG in Decarbonization Move

In an effort to lower its environmental footprint, AstraZeneca has entered an agreement with Vanguard Renewables to provide renewable natural gas (RNG).

The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company will purchase RNG from Vermont-based Vanguard for its Newark Campus, where AstraZeneca packages 26 medicines for U.S. patients and formulates medicines for global use. The partnership will allow 190,500-megawatt hours (MWh), per year of RNG to be used across AstraZeneca sites vy 2026.

 “We recognize the interconnection between the health of people and the planet, and are committed to driving deep decarbonization across our operations and value chain," stated Pam Cheng, AstraZeneca executive vice president of Global Operations & IT and chief sustainability officer. "Our innovative partnership with Vanguard Renewables in the U.S. is an illustration of how we are collaborating at scale to deliver sustainable science and medicines, as part of the transition to net zero health systems and a circular economy.”

The partnership will assist in delivering emissions reductions in line with AstraZeneca’s Ambition Zero Carbon initiative. The company's strategy toward decarbonization has set it on track to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally 98 percent by 2026 from a 2015 baseline.

Vanguard Renewables will utilize its Farm Powered® process, which involves working with daily farmers as well as food and beverage manufacturers to produce RNG via farm-based anaerobic digestion from food and daily cow manure.

"Once the RNG is produced and captured through AD, it will be injected into existing natural gas infrastructure for use in AstraZeneca medicines research and manufacturing processes," Vanguard noted.

John Hanselman, chief strategy officer, Vanguard Renewables, commented that  “[Vanguard Renewables ] has been working with multi-generational farms and food and beverage manufacturers since 2014 to provide sustainable solutions to greenhouse gas emissions challenges by diverting food waste from landfills and sequestering on-farm emissions. Vanguard’s Farm Powered process provides farmers across the U.S. with additional revenue streams, supports regenerative agriculture practices, and helps to ensure that these farms will be operating for years to come – thanks in part to change-making partnerships like this with AstraZeneca.”