The Creation of Green BioPharma at Genentech, Inc.
Kristi Budzinski, Ph.D., Genentech, Inc.
Tse-Sung Wu, Ph.D., Genentech, Inc.
The idea of Green BioPharma is relatively new, as biopharmaceutical manufacturing has always been considered a "green" process due to the benign nature of biologics pharmaceuticals. There are a number of sustainability issues, however, that arise during the research, development, and manufacture of biologics, including the consumption of clean water and laboratory consumables, the use and disposal of hazardous chemicals and chemicals of emerging concern, and energy consumption.
Genentech has a strong commitment to sustainability and significant employee interest as evidenced by the membership numbers of Green Genes, its voluntary employee association on sustainability (approximately 11 percent of the entire site employee population). To further develop the role of sustainability at Genentech, Green BioPharma was launched. The goal of the Green BioPharma program is to engage scientists, engineers, managers, and technicians in laboratories, the pilot plant, and the manufacturing division on issues involving the environmental impact of bench science, process development, and manufacturing. The unique approach at Genentech includes encouraging innovation, sharing best practices across different functions, strong alignment behind goals, and engaging employees at a grass roots level.
In this poster, the speaker will show data that reflects the environmental footprint created by the different types of laboratories at Genentech (e.g., medicinal chemistry, molecular biology, DNA sequencing, and cell culture) by measuring waste generation, energy consumption, cold storage methods, and fume hood (or biosafety cabinet) usage. Using this baseline data, Genentech has established reduction goals for each category and communicated the importance of laboratory sustainability programs to laboratory managers and business executives.
Kristi Budzinski, the Green BioPharma project manager at Genentech, has chemistry and molecular biology laboratory experience and a passion for environmentally sustainable science. Dr. Budzinski received a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Washington in 2011. During her Ph.D. studies, Dr. Budzinski participated in the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute summer school, where she learned about current topics in green chemistry research, as well as its application in industry. After graduation, she completed a summer project in the Department of Neuroscience at Genentech. In the fall of 2012, the Environment, Health, and Safety Department at Genentech embarked on its Green BioPharma Initiative. Dr. Budzinski continued her work at Genentech thereafter as its Green BioPharma project manager, where she works to take advantage of the enormous opportunity to integrate sustainability into the research, development, and manufacturing capacities at Genentech.
Tse-Sung Wu launched the Green BioPharma Program at Genentech, where he has been with the Environment, Health, and Safety department for more than ten years. His other responsibilities include managing hazardous waste operations, chemical inventory, and supporting Genentech's research laboratories. Prior to Genentech, he was associate director of the Consortium for Environmentally Conscious Design and Manufacture at the University of California, Berkeley. He has also been a part of Apple's Environmental Technologies and Strategies group and has consulted for the electronics and sports apparel industry on green design. Dr. Wu received his Ph.D. in engineering and public policy and civil and environmental engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1996.