Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

Zoetis' PiE Program

Zoetis is committed to minimizing the environmental impact of our products and this includes actively working to mitigate the presence of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE). The primary source of a veterinary pharmaceutical entering the environment from our products occurs after elimination from the treated animal. On a more local scale, however, pharmaceuticals can also enter the environment at the end of the manufacturing process.

As part of our product development process, Zoetis considers the risk our products could present to the environment. If required, we take steps to mitigate risks identified during this process to comply with legislative requirements in the country where the product is sold. In 2022, Zoetis established a Research and Development Sustainability Hub, and the team is dedicated to driving initiatives such as evaluating green chemistry alternatives and formulation innovation in order to reduce the impact of our products on the environment. We are also committed to investing in new products to predict, prevent and detect disease early, reducing the need to use products such as antibiotics to ensure animal health and welfare.

We focus on environmentally responsible manufacturing practices for our products, including antibiotics, and since 2019, Zoetis has implemented a PiE program to establish science-based safe emission limits for those active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) which could present a risk to the environment. Robust risk assessments are performed at our manufacturing sites and key suppliers which consider how APIs and manufacturing waste streams are managed. During this process, on-site waste treatment technology is evaluated and optimized to ensure that wastewater discharges meet safe emissions limits and when necessary, waste is destroyed to prevent any releases which could be harmful to the environment. Optimization and implementation of the most effective pollution prevention and control measures are supported by training programs for site personnel, as well as developing analytical methods for APIs to enable measuring API concentrations at critical steps in the wastewater treatment process where necessary. These PiE efforts for manufacturing have been incorporated as standard for the development of all new Zoetis products.