By David Rakowski, Sustainability and Climate Lead Partner, and Emily May, Life Sciences Research Manager, Deloitte

A patient information leaflet (PIL) is the tightly folded paper information document that accompanies all prescription medicines. Data from the US and UK reveals widespread limited engagement with PILs, including simply throwing them away, with 40 per cent of people never reading them. Of those that do read them, over half struggle to understand them.¹ Substituting PILs with electronic product information (ePI) is an opportunity to support an industry-wide digital shift, benefitting the planet, patients and healthcare systems. Deloitte, supported by experts within the pharmaceutical industry, has recently published a report, Moving to ePI: Reductions in energy, carbon emissions and paper use, detailing the results of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) analysis quantifying ePI's environmental benefits.² This blog explores the limitations of PILs, examines the ePI solution and highlights the environmental benefits based on our report findings.³

The challenge of paper patient information leaflets

PILs, while aiming to empower patients with essential medication information, present several challenges. Their lengthy, complex, and technical language often leads to poor comprehension and medication non-adherence.⁴ Furthermore, the information can quickly become outdated, the physical format is inconvenient and easily lost or damaged, and the environmental impact of paper usage is significant. The need for multiple language versions further increases length and complexity. Despite a desire amongst over half of patients for more comprehensive information, the current system fails to provide clear and accessible pathways to obtain it, hindering accessibility.⁵

Manufacturers also face challenges, including the lack of visibility into patient engagement, which limits opportunities to improve interaction and tailor information.

Creating ePI offers a solution to these issues. A digital format enables easy updates, ensuring information remains current and accurate. It also allows for readily accessible multilingual versions and provides an audit trail of use, including opportunities for patient and carer feedback. Moreover, digitisation unlocks valuable data and insights, allowing manufacturers to improve communication, personalise support, and enhance patient understanding, ultimately leading to more effective patient education materials and improved patient outcomes.

While the concept of ePI is gaining momentum within the pharma industry, with global industry leaders and regulators actively exploring the patient and industry benefits, there is a lack of reliable data quantifying the specific energy and carbon savings. In response to the industry’s ambitions, Deloitte conducted a cradle-to-grave LCA analysis to test the hypothesis that transitioning to ePIs will also yield environmental benefits.

Methodology of the life cycle assessment

The LCA focused on energy consumption, global warming potential, and resource use. Three common pharmaceutical packaging archetypes - vials, autoinjectors, and blister packs - representing typical hospital medicinal products delivered across the European market were used in the analysis, see Figure 1.

Figure 1. Packaging archetypes considered in the analysis

Source: Deloitte, 2025

The LCA used data from pharma companies (five products across the three packaging archetypes) and the Ecoinvent database to estimate the environmental impact of transitioning from paper-based PILs to ePI. The assessment compared both formats across all life-cycle stages - production, packaging, transport, use and end-of-life. These findings were then extrapolated to encompass all hospital products and subsequently expanded to also include non-hospital products (including over-the-counter (OTC) medicines).

Results of the life cycle assessment

The analysis demonstrates the significant positive environmental impact of transitioning to ePI, even when limited to vials, autoinjectors, and blister packs delivered in hospitals, see Figure 2. This transition could save 139 kilotons (kt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions, 980 gigawatt hours (gwh) of energy and 965 km² of paper. This is equivalent to the global warming potential of approximately 104,000 return flights between Paris and New York, the energy needed to power 25 hospitals for a year, and ten times the amount of paper required to cover the surface area of Paris.

Figure 2. The environmental impact of transitioning to ePI for hospital vials, autoinjectors and blister packs

Source: Deloitte analysis, 2025

The products assessed above represent approximately one-third of all hospital products. Given that hospitals are likely to be early adopters of ePI, extrapolating the LCA results to all hospital products reveals the substantial potential savings shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The environmental impact of transitioning to ePI for all hospital products

Source: Deloitte analysis, 2025

Even then, hospital products account for approximately 45 per cent of the European market. Extrapolating the findings from the hospital product analysis to the entire European medicine market (including pharmacy and OTC) reveals the significant environmental benefits of complete ePI adoption, see Figure 4.

Figure 4. The environmental impact of transitioning to ePI for the entire European medicine market

Source: Deloitte analysis, 2025

Conclusion

The transition to ePI presents a compelling opportunity to both improve patient and carers engagement with and adherence to their prescribed medications while importantly contributing to a more sustainable, efficient and patient-centric healthcare system. The LCA quantifies the environmental benefits of replacing paper PILs with ePI, with potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions exceeding 700 kt CO₂e and energy savings surpassing 5 Twh across the European market, equivalent to up to 41 per cent and 47 per cent reductions, respectively, across the assessed life cycle of paper vs electronic. This substantial reduction in environmental impact, if achieved through widespread adoption, would contribute to a more sustainable environment, supporting the EU’s progress towards delivering the Green Deal.

While our analysis, and therefore this blog, has focused on quantifying environmental sustainability improvements, benefits across areas such as cost savings, improved patient experience, and innovative approaches to data and workflows is anticipated. Further research and collaborative efforts are needed to overcome implementation hurdles and fully realise the transformative potential of ePI. This includes developing strategies to address digital literacy and accessibility concerns to ensure equitable access to information for all patients. However, the ePI transition will contribute to the future of pharma that prioritises both environmental responsibility and patient well-being in a digitally-enabled world.

London Climate Action Week

This week, 21-29 June 2025, is London Climate Action Week (LCAW). Founded in 2019, LCAW fosters global and local climate action through a collaborative approach developed with extensive stakeholder consultation.⁶ Its aim is to leverage London's resources to accelerate global climate action and establish London as a global climate leader, showcasing whole-society engagement in decarbonisation and resilience, and inspiring other cities to host similar events. Our life-cycle assessment, which quantifies the environmental benefits of transitioning to ePI, showcases a practical and impactful solution within the pharmaceutical industry. By highlighting significant reductions in carbon emissions, energy consumption, and paper waste achieved through ePI adoption, our study contributes to LCAW's goals, demonstrating the potential for impactful change across diverse sectors.

David Rakowski, Sustainability and Climate Lead Partner

David is a partner in the ESG advisory business with a focus on Circular Economy and sustainability in Life Sciences and Healthcare. He began his career in sustainability over 10 years ago, and has led transformational projects across multiple sectors. As a systems engineer by trade, he brings together product, business, supply chain and digital design to develop sustainable solutions.

Email | LinkedIn

Emily May, Research Manager, Centre for Health Solutions

Emily is a manager in the Centre for Health Solutions where she applies her background in both scientific research and pharmaceutical analytics to produce supported insights for the Life Sciences and Healthcare practice. Emily leads the research and publication of the life sciences insights, performing thorough analysis to find solutions for the challenges impacting the industry and generating predictions for the future. Prior to joining the centre, Emily worked as an Analytical Scientist conducting physical chemistry analysis on early stage drug compounds and previously lived in Antwerp, Belgium where she researched and developed water-based adhesive films.

Email | LinkedIn

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1 Medicine package inserts from the users' perspective: are they read and understood? - PubMed

2 Rewriting the script: ePI’s role in a sustainable future

3 Rewriting the script: ePI’s role in a sustainable future

4 emc hcp engagement survey report 2023 (medicines.org.uk)

5 emc hcp engagement survey report 2023 (medicines.org.uk)

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