CPHI Milan will host the inaugural CPHI Sustainability Summit at Fiera Milano on October 6–7, 2026, bringing together more than 300 companies and organisations from across the pharmaceutical supply chain to focus on practical sustainability action. Sponsored by SK Pharmteco, Alperia, AstraZeneca, Sharp, ERM, Pharma LCA Consortium, AllocNow and gesco, the two-day event will address sustainability challenges across manufacturing, packaging, supply chain, technology, procurement and sustainability. The CPHI Sustainability Summit is intended to provide a forum for industry participants to share practical approaches, strengthen collaboration and identify ways to translate sustainability objectives into measurable outcomes.
The event builds on the CPHI Sustainability Collective, an industry-wide initiative established by CPHI to connect sustainability leaders, manufacturers, suppliers, associations and solution providers. Participants in the Collective have identified common barriers to progress and the need for a dedicated forum focused on implementation. Across the two-day programme, more than 20 expert-led content sessions, working groups and interactive discussions will examine sustainable manufacturing, supply chain decarbonisation, packaging innovation, green chemistry and the integration of sustainability into commercial and operational decision-making. The programme will also address the practical challenges companies face when attempting to implement sustainability at scale, including the commercial question of how additional costs for more sustainable solutions can be managed across pharmaceutical supply chains.
The Sustainability Power Hour will bring together organisations including BioPhorum, Alliance To Zero, SHC and PSCI to examine industry collaborations driving sustainability. The Advocate & The Enabler: A Fireside Reality Check on Sustainability session will focus on the realities of translating corporate sustainability objectives into operational change. Meanwhile, the interactive Hackathons Hack the Friction: Buyer Solutions Lab and Supplier Sprint: From Challenge to Offer sessions will focus on sustainable procurement, bringing participants together to identify practical responses to barriers that can prevent sustainability objectives from translating into purchasing decisions. In Green Extra Cost: How Can We Absorb Them Along the Value Chain?, speakers from Alliance to Zero will examine how additional sustainability costs can be managed and shared across pharmaceutical supply chains.
Silvia Forroova, Director of Partnerships & Sustainability at CPHI and founder of the CPHI Sustainability Collective, said: “The industry has reached a point where sustainability conversations need to translate into decisions and action. The challenges involved are interconnected, from procurement and manufacturing through to packaging and the wider supply chain, and no single organisation can solve them alone.
“What makes this Summit important is the involvement of partners and experts from across that ecosystem. We want to create an environment where people can openly address the barriers they are facing, learn from what others are already doing and work together on solutions that are both environmentally meaningful and commercially realistic.”
Workshops, working groups, solution labs and collaborative sessions will allow participants to share experience and develop approaches that can be applied within their own organisations. The event takes place alongside CPHI Milan, with Summit registration providing access to all three days of CPHI Milan and opportunities to connect with stakeholders from across the global pharmaceutical development and manufacturing supply chain.
