From August 2026, the carbon footprint of medicinal products, also referred to as the “carbon score”, will become a mandatory and decisive criterion in public procurement procedures in France. The methodology to be applied was published in May 2025 with the aim of ensuring comparability and integrating environmental considerations at the heart of public health decision-making. It includes an official methodological guide and a calculation matrix.

For manufacturers, it is a decarbonisation accelerator: it enables the identification of the most impactful therapeutic classes, technologies, or pharmaceutical forms. For public authorities and purchasers, it paves the way for decisions based on robust data. And for healthcare professionals, it makes more responsible prescribing possible.

In this article, we will explore this new methodology, understand how it works in practice and what it changes for manufacturers, public buyers and healthcare professionals. For both manufacturers and purchasers, the question is no longer whether this shift will take place, but how quickly they will be able to adapt to it.

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A medicinal product for human use is defined as any substance or combination of substances presented as having curative or preventive properties with regard to human diseases, as well as any substance or combination of substances that may be used in or administered to humans with a view to making a medical diagnosis or restoring, correcting or modifying physiological functions by exerting a pharmacological, immunological or metabolic action. All medicinal products are concerned, regardless of their presentation or intended use. Medical devices are not included.

A medicinal product, within the meaning of the methodology, is not limited to a molecule: it is a complete system comprising an active substance (AS), excipients, packaging and a supply chain, placed on the market to treat or prevent a disease.

The carbon footprint must be presented for each medicinal product presentation, defined by its CIP code, distinguishing between upstream and downstream impacts. A Marketing Authorisation (MA) is required for verification and to justify the ingredients taken into account.

The diagram below illustrates the life-cycle stages to be considered according to the methodology, including the upstream/downstream distinction. The light blue boxes indicate stages where precise quantities are required. Multiplication factors are provided for the orange boxes if quantities are unavailable.

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The carbon footprint must be calculated for each medicinal product presentation (Presentation Identification Code – CIP) and distinguished between upstream and downstream emissions.

Key points:

✔ Methodology aligned with international standards
Based on the GHG Protocol – Product Standard, ISO 14040/14044 and ISO 14067 standards, using the IPCC 2021 100-year method (PEF 3.1).

✔ Primary data required
For the active ingredient, excipients, and packaging:

• Raw materials and solvents (including the last three synthesis steps of the active substance, and excipients if ≥ 90% of the mass)
• Energy (with justified allocation)
• Waste (mass balance)
  Data averaged over 12 months. Biogenic carbon must be reported (zero at end of life).

✔ Database hierarchy
Priority given to verified supplier data, then data from guidance documents, ecoinvent (≥ v3.10), Agribalyse®, Base Empreinte®, and Exiobase (≤ 25%).
→ Allows calculation of uncertainty (≤ 45% for upstream stages).

✔ Allocation rules are regulated

• Energy: machine hours → duration → mass → mixed (50% economic / 50% volume)
• ✔ Co-products: subdivision or system expansion; otherwise mass-based or economic allocation (if price ratio > 5)

✔ Default multipliers
For non-primary data: upstream transport, employee commuting, purchases, capital goods, direct emissions.

✔ Official Excel matrix
Enables automatic calculation from collected data: emission factors (API, excipients, packaging), energy (12 months), losses, masses, country, transport, storage, use phase, and end of life.

→ Results: footprint per presentation (DPU, DDD), upstream/downstream, standard factors, and uncertainty.

Method intended for pharmaceutical operators, with a strong reliance on supplier data.

What we can do for you 

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Through our experience in the medical sector and our team of expert chemists, you receive a robust, comparable, and verified carbon footprint, ready for regulatory authorities, public tenders, and your low-carbon strategy. 

✔ Studies compliant with the GHG Protocol, ISO 14067, and the French methodology 
Complete pharmaceutical LCA, reconstruction of the active ingredient (API), integration of ecoinvent / Agribalyse / Exiobase databases. 

✔ Internal configurator
Automate the carbon footprint of your products 

✔ Mastery of the pharmaceutical methodology 
Strict application of rules: synthesis, losses, allocation, cutoff, end of life, transport. 
Support in understanding the Excel matrix of the methodology. 

✔ Supplier support 
Collection templates, training, and compliance verification with the GHG Protocol and ISO 14067. 

✔ Independent third-party verificatio 
Critical review and methodological validation.