For The Greater Good: Haleon CEO Brian McNamara

Practicing sustainability is tricky in the health care industry, when ingredients and packaging are of utmost importance. And it's a huge priority for Brian McNamara, CEO of Haleon, which offers some of the world's most trusted brands including Advil, Theraflu, Flonase, Centrum, Sensodyne, Centrum, and more. 

In episode eight of the For the Greater Good podcast, McNamara speaks with Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) CEO John Ross about how Haleon is tackling sustainability by evolving the way they source, make, use, and dispose of the ingredients in their products to support the wellbeing of people in the supply chain and reduce their environmental impact.

Key Takeaways:

• 95% of children in India breathe air deemed unhealthy by WHO standards, McNamara says. To help improve that air, Haleon recently put air purifiers into classrooms and is using the carbon pulled from that air to make pencils. 
• Haleon's 24 manufacturing plants across the globe are zero waste, using 100% renewable electricity, according to McNamara.
• "Haleon is committed to having recycled plastics everywhere we can by 2025," McNamara says, adding that there is a longer lead time in their industry because of the way some drugs interact with certain materials.
• McNamara is a co-sponsor of the Collaboration for Healthier Lives, a program within the Consumer Goods Forum that brings retailers and manufacturers together to empower people to lead healthier, more sustainable lives.
• The company has also been instrumental in advancing global access to healthcare with these initiatives:
  • The Health Inclusivity Index, which Haleon co-created. "It rates 40 countries on 36 attributes of how inclusive their health systems are around community, empowerment, and access to health. It gives us great insight and an opportunity to sit down with governments and health authorities and figure out how we can help move them up the list."
  • Microsoft's Seeing AI app, which allows the user to scan the barcode of any Haleon product (like Advil, Sensodyne, Centrum, etc.). Then the app tells the user the purpose of the product, the ingredients, and dosage instructions. The app is especially helpful for the visually impaired, as McNamara says these products are misused about 50% of the time due to the inability to access clear usage instructions. 

For full details of Haleon’s sustainability commitments, click here.