Analysis of changes in the greening capacity of Ukrainian pharmaceutical enterprises before and after the introduction of martial law

Abstract

Since the European Union granted Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership, the self-screening of Ukrainian legislation and processes of harmonization with EU regulatory acts, in particular in the field of the production of medicinal products, have been ongoing. But in the conditions of military law and the continuation of hostilities in part of the territory of Ukraine, pharmaceutical enterprises remain in the zone of critical risk of infrastructure destruction, disruption of logistics, resource provision, etc. Therefore, there is a shift in priorities towards ensuring the basic conditions for ensuring the functioning of production. The lack of access to part of the territories, the destruction of infrastructure, the loss and migration of personnel, as well as the suspension of measures of state environmental control during the period of martial law negatively affected the possibility of full implementation of state management in the field of environmental protection. Environmental problems are accumulating, the risk of significantly lagging behind European countries in the field of "greening" of industry is increasing. All this significantly reduces Ukraine's ability to fulfill the conditions of EU membership on environmental and climate change issues. The aim of the study is to analyze and determine the capabilities of pharmaceutical enterprises for greening (“greening”) in the pre-war and military-legal conditions of Ukraine on the basis of sociological research. Materials and methods. The materials of sociological research are the results of questionnaire surveys among representatives of the top management of pharmaceutical enterprises of Ukraine, which are business entities in the field of drug production. Respondents' answers were recorded using google-forms. Statistical methods were used to process the results. Results. The conducted analyze revealed a significant decrease in attention to environmental aspects, correspondingly, a decrease in the readiness and capacity for greening ("greening") of pharmaceutical enterprises due to the significant complication of production conditions and the suspension of state environmental control measures for the period of martial law. In particular, 20% of respondents determined that the enterprise lacks resources to comply with environmental requirements; 25% of respondents noted that environmental aspects of activity are currently irrelevant; 25% of respondents noted that there is a lack of competent specialists to implement environmental policy and support relevant procedures; 30% of respondents noted that there is a lack of information awareness. However, 75% of pharmaceutical enterprises fully comply with the current license conditions for the production and sale of medicinal products, which also regulate environmental aspects, in particular industrial emissions. In other cases, due to lack of resources and other reasons, some non-critical provisions of the LU are partially fulfilled. Conclusions. Since 2022, Ukraine has been under martial law, and production, in particular, pharmaceutical enterprises are in a critical risk zone due to the direct threat of the destruction of infrastructure and the occurrence of man-made disasters. 30% of pharmaceutical enterprises remain in the territories where military operations were or are being conducted. These are force majeure factors that complicate or make production processes impossible, disrupt or complicate global supply chains, and are a threat to environmental security. The forced suspension of state environmental control measures for the period of martial law also has a negative impact on the possibility of fully implementing state management in the field of environmental protection in Ukraine. These factors significantly reduce the readiness and capacity of pharmaceutical enterprises for greening, accordingly, the ability of Ukraine to fulfill the conditions of membership in the EU on environmental issues and climate change at this stage is complicated.