Environmental Sustainability

We’re Minimising Our Environmental Impact.

Making medicines requires the use of valuable resources including energy, water and raw materials. We’re committed to continually improving our environmental impact across our product life cycles and supply chain – with a focus on addressing climate change, waste and water security.

At Lilly, we recognise that climate change is one of the greatest issues confronting humanity and our planet. As a global company committed to making life better for people, we also recognise our responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint, which is why we’ve set ambitious global sustainability goals for 2030.

Read more about Lilly’s ambitious 2030 environmental goals.

Our Commitment to the Environment in Ireland

Since we arrived in Ireland in 1978, the company has been committed to respecting our local environment. To deliver on our commitment, we’ve established environmental programmes across all sites to monitor the quality of the ambient air, the flora and fauna and the local marine habitat. 

Kinsale

At Lilly Kinsale, reducing energy usage is a top priority. In July 2021, we opened our solar farm. Comprising of 12,600 individual panels, the ground-mounted solar farm produces up to 5.6MW of power, allowing Lilly Kinsale to reduce its annual carbon footprint at the site by 2,350 tonnes. The 16-acre installation helps power a significant proportion of the Kinsale manufacturing facility with sustainable energy. 

Sustainable travel is another focus, and the company has put great effort into finding alternative ways to get people to work, instead of driving. Lilly Kinsale operates two bus services travelling to the campus from Cork city, delivering over 200 employees to the site daily.  

Since we began our operations in Kinsale, we have facilitated a study of the Kinsale Harbour by the National University of Ireland, Galway to ensure that our manufacturing operations have not adversely impacted on marine life. This independently maintained research was at our request, and now, over forty years later,  it is one of the longest-term studies of marine coastline and habitat conducted anywhere in the world.  

Lilly employees play a critical role. Our employee-led Environmental Sustainability Team is committed to driving positive change by conserving biodiversity, decreasing resource consumption, reducing waste, promoting green travel, and raising awareness about sustainable living.

Global Business Solutions (GBS) Cork

GBS Cork remains dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint. We've introduced a carpooling initiative with dedicated parking spaces near the building that can be booked in advance, making shared travel more convenient and accessible. With the recent addition of EV charging stations, we're continuing to take steps towards cleaner and greener motoring to and from our Little Island campus. 

As our campus has grown, so too has our usage of renewable solar energy, while single-use plastic cups are no longer permitted onsite. Instead, employees and visitors are presented with reusable cups-for-life and all takeaway food containers are biodegradable. Most recently, we introduced reusable takeaway containers, removed single use condiments and cutlery for food, and introduced a charge for single use biodegradable containers to limit their use. 

Limerick

Lilly has a longstanding commitment to sustainability and respecting the local environment. Lilly Limerick has already developed a comprehensive plan for the management of the protected species of Meadow Barley (Hordeum secalinum) plant which is growing on the Raheen site. As part of this plan, in 2025, the site announced a partnership with University College Cork to research this rare species, supporting biodiversity and building more resilient grassland. 

The Lilly Limerick campus design also includes plans for a significant solar energy investment. Based on current design estimates, Limerick is estimated to produce 3.17 million kWh of renewable solar energy per year, which is enough to power 755 homes in Ireland. 

As part of Lilly’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, the engineering design of the site and facility has two key focus areas for the responsible management of water. The site design includes an array of cisterns that will harvest rainwater for re-use within the site, resulting in a saving of roughly 2 million litres of water per annum.