PurposeThe purpose of this research paper is to benchmark the evolution of reported sustainability activity in the pharmaceutical sector, which has been recognized as a leading sector in industrial sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examined recent published corporate sustainability activity reports for 11 pharmaceutical sector‐related companies and compared this to a similar earlier study.FindingsSustainability related activity has increased in breadth and depth, but activity is now being shifted toward corporate social responsibility, which is reflective of corporate need to satisfy public sentiment.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is formed on the basis of voluntarily reported activities and published documentation, therefore, it does contain a potential for bias and “greenwashing”; however, regardless of the impetus, the integration of sustainability is still evident.Practical implicationsThe paper is of value to the practicioner and manager to benchmark the venues and activities reported for sustainability, in other words, what is the sector participating in and what is it reporting?Originality/valueBenchmarking of corporate practice in a sustainability leadership sector provides a glimpse into the emerging standard of practice for industry.

A changing business climate has led many organizations to embrace environmental sustainability and social responsibility; however, organizational roles and responsibilities in sustainability initiatives have not been clearly defined. This paper specifically examines the role of environmental managers in advancing environmental sustainability and social responsibility. It is part of a broader study to identify the extent to which various departments or functional units within an organization are prepared to play a role in these initiatives based on a survey of various professionals in relation to activities and action items derived from the ISO 26000 standard on social responsibility. As expected, the findings indicate that environmental managers are positioned to play a critical role in advancing environmental sustainability and social responsibility in their organizations. However, there appears to be disparity between the role that environmental managers indicated they are prepared to play and the perceptions of their role held by others in the organization. While environmental managers indicated that they would support or play a major role in 18 of the 35 action items on which they were surveyed, professionals from other functional units indicated that environmental managers would be involved in only a few key areas focused on traditional environmental issues associated with pollution prevention and waste management. This suggests that environmental managers are prepared to play a much broader role in the organization's sustainability and social responsibility efforts but may not be fully utilized in this capacity.

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