Sustainable Promotional Materials

Healthy Planet – Responsible Sourcing of Promotional Materials

At Elanco UK and Ireland, we’re committed to reducing our environmental footprint. With a large portfolio of products, it’s easy to accumulate vast amounts of promotional materials—from brochures and leaflets to branded gifts like pens and mugs. However, under our Healthy Purpose promises, we're re-evaluating the way we produce and source these materials.

Our Approach to Sustainability

We’re making significant changes to how we manage promotional materials. This includes not only reducing the volume of printed items, but also sourcing more sustainable options and working with partners who share our environmental values.

Reducing Printed Materials

Our primary goal is to shift toward digital formats. Whether it's product detailers, promotional assets, or event materials, we now prioritise online distribution—through websites, social media, videos, and virtual events.

When printing is necessary, we’re limiting production to smaller volumes to avoid waste if materials become outdated. In addition, we’ve partnered with a new printing vendor that provides carbon emission reports for all print jobs, helping us better track and manage our environmental impact.

Choosing Better Paper

We’re making more responsible choices in the paper we use. Wherever possible, we’re opting for recycled paper instead of virgin stock. We’ve also introduced seeded paper—a plantable alternative that allows materials to blossom into flowers once they’re no longer needed.

Phasing Out Single-Use Plastics

Some changes may seem small, but they make a meaningful difference—such as replacing plastic Tracer Microchip Pet ID Cards with recyclable card alternatives, and introducing Seresto’s new sustainable packaging made from FSC®-certified materials. Together, these steps contribute to a significant reduction in single-use plastics.

Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Packaging is another area where we’ve made important changes. We’ve asked our vendors to replace plastic sealing tape with paper tape, which not only cuts down on plastic use but also makes recycling boxes significantly easier.

Eco-Conscious Warehousing

Our promotional materials are now stored and distributed by a supplier with a strong environmental policy and EcoVadis accreditation. We’ll complete our transition from our previous supplier by the end of July, once existing contractual obligations conclude.

Rethinking Freebies

We’re also working with suppliers to ensure our promotional items—such as branded clothing, gifts, and giveaways—are responsibly sourced. That means:

Avoiding unnecessary plastic wrapping
Prioritising locally manufactured goods
Using recyclable materials wherever possible

There will be more we can do to continually improve our footprint, working with our suppliers as well as exploring more environmentally conscious options, and we are committed to becoming one of the leading pharmaceutical companies with regards to green credentials.