Environmental Sustainability Assessment in Pharma (CESPE Academy)
Description
Course takes place on 8-10th of September 2026 at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Ottergemsesteenweg 460, B-9000, Ghent).
The Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN) group offers a comprehensive training program in Environmental Sustainability Assessment with a focus on the pharmaceutical industry. The training is divided into a theoretical and practical part. The theoretical module covers principles of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate environmental impacts of pharmaceutical production systems. The practical module provides hands-on experience with LCA software (OpenLCA). Finally, LCAs for non-classical drug products and methodological advancements in (environmental) sustainability assessment of pharmaceuticals will be discussed.
Through lectures, case studies, and interactive sessions, participants will gain essential knowledge and skills to conduct environmental sustainability assessments in professional contexts, with an emphasis on real-world applications and critical thinking about sustainability in the pharmaceutical field.
Target Audience
This training is ideal for professionals, researchers, and PhD students in pharma, as well as for environmental sciences, engineering, and related fields who wish to enhance their understanding and application of sustainability assessment methodologies.
Programme
General life cycle assessment (LCA) framework
- Goal and scope definition
- Life cycle inventory (LCI)
- Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA)
- Interpretation
Conducting LCA in pharma sector
- LCA tailored to pharmaceuticals
- Challenges in data collection, methodological choices, accounting for ecotoxicity, etc.
- Concrete examples
Practical case studies tailored to pharma
- General information on LCA software tools
- Introduction to specialized software: OpenLCA
- Use and explanation of the different LCI databases
- Step by step modelling & practical case studies in OpenLCA software
- Analysing, interpreting, an explanation of the results
Beyond LCA of classical drug products & environmental sustainability assessment
- Examples of LCA studies of non-classic drug products
- Introduction into concepts of Footprint versus handprint
- LCA from system perspective instead of product perspective
Remarks
Additional information
- One week prior to the course, the registered participants will receive further information (directions, parking availabilities, course material).
- The participants will receive an evaluation form to provide feedback on this training.
- By registering for this course, the participants consent to the sharing of their name, email, and job information with the course instructor/provider for the purposes of tailoring and then sharing educational course-related information.
- For further information or any questions related to the course, please contact Mark.Gontsarik@UGent.be
Annullation/Cancellation
- Registration is possible up to one week before the day of the respective session.
- Registrations can only be cancelled by email. Cancellations earlier than 2 weeks before the course start will be fully refunded. In case the cancellation occurs later than two weeks before, but earlier than one week before the start of the course, half of the registration fee will still be due. In case of cancellations less than one week before the start of the course, the full registration fee will still be due. For UGent PhD students, the price of the registration fees for the Academic (UGent postdoc or professor) category will be considered when calculating the cancellations fees.
- The organization reserves the right to reschedule or cancel the training in case of insufficient number of participants.
Pricing (for full 3-day course)
- Industry (non CESPE member): 1600.- EUR
- Industry (CESPE member): 1125.- EUR
- Academic (non-UGent): 800.- EUR
- Academic (UGent postdoc or professor): 650.- EUR
- Academic (UGent PhD student): Free of charge. Add the course to your card and specify ‘Academic (UGent PhD student)’. The discount will be applied during the checkout.
Partners
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Environmental Sustainability Assessment in Pharma: from Theory to Practical Applications - Full Course (Industry Participants)
Registration for the "Environmental Sustainability Assessment in Pharma: from Theory to Practical Application" course for participants from the industry.
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Environmental Sustainability Assessment in Pharma: from Theory to Practical Applications - Full Course (Academic Participants)
Registration for the "Environmental Sustainability Assessment in Pharma: from Theory to Practical Application" course for participants from an academic institute.