Global supply chains continue to shape the environmental footprint of laboratory operations in ways that are not always visible from the bench. The newly released 2025 Carbon Impact of Biotech and Pharma report from My Green Lab highlights a striking regional divide in Asia-Pacific emissions: life science companies headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region report more than double the Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity of those based in North America and Europe. This difference offers important insight into how regional energy systems and manufacturing footprints influence downstream environmental impacts across the lab supply chain.
This disparity matters because so many laboratory consumables, chemicals, and components originate from manufacturing hubs in Asia-Pacific countries. For lab managers, the report provides a clearer understanding of the upstream emissions embedded in everyday purchasing decisions—and the potential risk that shifting regional energy profiles pose to future sustainability commitments.
Asia-Pacific emissions intensity is more than double NA/EU levels
The report clearly outlines the performance gap: companies in North America and Europe average 44.65 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) per USD million in revenue, while those in the Asia-Pacific average 108.52 tonnes per USD million. The contrast reflects several underlying factors, including grid carbon intensity, the availability of renewable electricity, and the concentration of energy-intensive manufacturing within the region. Lab consumables, plastics, reagents, glassware, and diagnostic components often originate from these production sites, reinforcing the influence of Asia-Pacific emissions on downstream lab operations.
Outsourcing trends increase regional exposure
The life sciences sector continues to outsource chemical synthesis, API manufacturing, packaging, and specialty-material production to facilities in the Asia-Pacific region. While cost-effective and operationally efficient, this approach increases the embodied carbon tied to many essential laboratory products.
Upstream emissions associated with the region influence laboratory chemicals and solvents, disposable plastics and pipette tips, freezer components and cold storage equipment, and diagnostic testing consumables. As sustainability expectations increase industry-wide, understanding these emissions—particularly those tied to the lab supply chain—will help organizations prepare for more detailed Scope 3 accounting requirements.
Implications for procurement and sustainability reporting
As carbon reporting becomes more exacting across the life sciences, procurement teams may need to incorporate emissions-related criteria into purchasing decisions. Strategies include prioritizing suppliers that provide Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs), reviewing manufacturing locations and renewable-energy commitments, adding emissions questions to RFPs and vendor scorecards, and requesting greater transparency from distributors about upstream operations.
These steps increasingly require coordination between laboratory leadership, procurement teams, and institutional sustainability offices.
Why Asia-Pacific emissions matter for lab managers
Regional emissions profiles are becoming central to procurement, budgeting, and sustainability planning. Understanding trends in Asia-Pacific emissions supports stronger vendor selection, improved accuracy in Scope 3 reporting, better alignment with institutional climate goals, and reduced long-term supply risk as global regulations evolve.
As the biotech and pharma sector moves toward more rigorous decarbonization expectations, regional transparency—and a clearer view of how the lab supply chain contributes to emissions—will become essential to laboratory purchasing and operational planning.
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.
