Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) told investors and analysts that it is continuing to embed sustainability into its business strategy while updating some of its 2030 targets to reflect growth and lessons learned from existing programs.
During the company’s 2026 Sustainability Update, Pam Cheng, EVP Global Operations and Chief Sustainability Officer, said AstraZeneca views health, society and the environment as interconnected. She said climate change, nature loss, aging populations, chronic disease and health disparities are increasing pressure on healthcare systems, while early disease detection and more sustainable care can improve outcomes and reduce system burdens.
Climate Targets Updated as Scope 3 Emissions Remain a Focus
Cheng said AstraZeneca has reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 88% as of December 2025, while more than doubling revenue compared with 2015. The company’s ambition is to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 98% by December 2026, where addressable, and Cheng said 11 sites have already met that goal.
The company has also reduced water and waste by 23% since 2015 and transitioned 81% of its global car fleet to electric vehicles. More than 80% of supplier spend is with companies that have science-based targets, Cheng said.
AstraZeneca updated its near-term Scope 3 target for 2030 to a 35% reduction versus 2019, compared with its previous target of a 50% reduction. Cheng said the revision reflects business growth and alignment with the company’s ambition to deliver $80 billion in total revenue and 20 new medicines by 2030. She said the absolute amount of emissions reduction under the new target is the same as under the original target, which was based on a smaller business base.
The company also adjusted its AZ Forest target to planting 100 million trees by 2030, down from 200 million. Cheng said the change reflects learnings since the initiative launched and a greater emphasis on high-quality projects rather than volume. She said the company has planted more than 66 million trees across 80 species.
Respiratory Inhaler Transition Cited as Key Decarbonization Lever
Cheng highlighted AstraZeneca’s $500 million investment to transition its pressurized metered-dose inhalers to a next-generation propellant with near-zero global warming potential. She said the U.K. approved the propellant for one of the company’s respiratory medicines last year, calling it a “world and industry first,” and that it is now in use across the country. She said the transition is also complete in Europe, with other regions to follow.
The company aims to transition its wider product portfolio by 2030. Cheng said pMDI-related emissions represent 26% of AstraZeneca’s total Scope 3 footprint, making the propellant transition a critical near-term lever.
AI Used Across R&D, Operations and Diagnosis
In response to a question from Ben Yeoh of RBC, Cheng said artificial intelligence is driving measurable efficiencies across R&D and operations. She said AI is being used to digitally model drug candidates, reducing the need for physical screening, and that AstraZeneca’s AI development agent is intended to generate roughly 35% productivity improvement by 2030 while reducing lead time by 50%.
Cheng also cited AI use in manufacturing to reduce manual tasks and improve energy monitoring and control. In early diagnosis, she pointed to MILTON, an AI tool trained on UK Biobank data that combines de-identified health records with genetic and proteomics data to predict risk for more than 1,000 diseases, in some cases 10 to 15 years before clinical diagnosis.
Cheng said AstraZeneca recognizes that AI computing has an environmental impact and is shifting data centers and compute needs toward more energy-efficient infrastructure powered by renewable energy.
On AI governance, Cheng said public AI tools are not permitted for AstraZeneca work unless formally approved. She said higher-risk AI systems are subject to ongoing validation and monitoring, and uses prohibited under the EU AI Act are treated as prohibited globally. More than 50,000 AstraZeneca employees have participated in the company’s internal “Thriving in the Age of AI” training program, she said.
Health Equity Programs Reach Underserved Populations
Cheng said AstraZeneca aims to benefit 1 billion people through health equity programs, including 400 million people from underserved groups. The company defines underserved groups to include patients in low-income, lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income countries, as well as all patients with rare disease, while acknowledging that underserved populations also exist within high-income countries.
By the end of 2025, more than 40% of AstraZeneca’s genomic data came from underrepresented populations, Cheng said. The company’s Young Health Programme has reached more than 23 million young people in 56 countries over 15 years through partnerships with more than 60 NGOs, including UNICEF and Plan International.
Cheng said AstraZeneca’s health education, screening and early detection programs have reached more than 49 million people since 2024, while 156 million people from underserved communities have been positively impacted by its health equity programs since 2024.
Stefan Weber, VP of Global Policy, Advocacy and Health Equity, said AstraZeneca and Qure.ai completed 5 million AI-enabled chest X-rays across more than 20 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. He said the program demonstrates the potential of AI to improve early lung cancer detection in low- and middle-income countries and other resource-limited settings.
Health System Resilience and Shareholder Value
Weber said AstraZeneca’s Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience, or PHSSR, is active in 37 countries, has published more than 30 reports and has engaged more than 200 policymakers. He said the company expects to launch engagements and reports this year in Mexico, Indonesia, Finland and Turkey, bringing PHSSR activity to more than 40 countries by the end of 2026, near AstraZeneca’s 2030 target of 45.
Liz Chatwin, who leads sustainability strategy and safety, health and environment, said sustainability investments have created business value through renewable energy investments, reduced exposure to energy price volatility, lower water and waste use, and more efficient manufacturing. She cited continuous direct compression technology that reduced tablet production time for one hypertension medicine from 20 days to 20 minutes.
Cheng closed the update by saying AstraZeneca has made “considerable sustainability progress” while growing its business and that its updated targets are intended to be realistic and transparent as the company measures the next phase of its impact.
About Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN)
AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.
The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.
