The pharmaceutical and biotech industries are under growing pressure from regulators, investors, and consumers to reduce their carbon footprint, minimise waste, and adopt greener processes. Combined with rising energy costs and supply chain vulnerabilities, sustainability is no longer optional but strategic.
Many of today’s biomanufacturing facilities were built in an era without aggressive climate goals. Transitioning to greener operations (e.g. energy-efficient clean rooms, renewable utilities, solvent recycling, closed-loop water systems) often involves redesigning processes, installing new instrumentation, and rethinking supply chains.
This transformation demands not only capital and policy but, crucially, people with new skills. Organisations that can source or cultivate talent in sustainable technologies will gain a competitive edge in execution, regulatory compliance, and brand reputation.
Companies increasingly see value in the circular bioeconomy as a competitive differentiator.
Emerging Roles & Skill Sets
1. Sustainable/Green Bioprocess Engineers
Role & responsibilities:
- Redesigning upstream and downstream processes to reduce energy, water, and solvent usage
- Integrating process analytical technologies (PAT), continuous processing, and real-time monitoring
- Energy and resource optimisation (e.g. heat recovery, waste minimisation)
- Scale-up of greener modalities (mRNA, viral vectors, cell therapies) with sustainability baked in
Essential skills & capabilities:
- Strong foundational chemical / biochemical engineering
- Knowledge of process intensification, continuous processing, and modular manufacturing
- Familiarity with PAT, digital sensors, and multivariate analysis
- Experience with life cycle assessment (LCA), carbon accounting, and process footprinting
- Cross-disciplinary fluency (chemistry, automation, instrumentation)
This role is at the heart of greening biomanufacturing, and companies are already calling for it in new facility builds and retrofits.
2. Circular Bioeconomy/Resource Efficiency Specialists
Role & responsibilities:
- Designing circular systems of resource reuse (water, solvents, reagents)
- Waste valorisation (e.g. converting biomass or bioprocess waste to by-products)
- Integration with external waste/utilities ecosystems (industrial symbiosis)
- Auditing and minimising supply chain and raw material waste
Skills & required knowledge:
- Expertise in circular economy principles, industrial ecology, and resource efficiency
- Life cycle thinking and cradle-to-cradle design
- Systems engineering/supply chain modelling
- Cross-sector collaboration (waste management, utilities, chemical industry)
Companies increasingly see value in circular bioeconomy as a competitive differentiator, and this role helps translate strategy into practice.
3. Sustainability Scientist / Environmental Impact Analyst
Role & responsibilities:
- Leading ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) reporting, sustainability metrics
- Conducting carbon footprinting and life cycle assessments (LCA) on drugs/processes
- Regulatory monitoring of emerging environmental standards
- Advising on green chemistry (e.g. solvent substitution, atom economy)
Skills & competencies:
- Strong background in chemistry, environmental science, or chemical engineering
- Competency in LCA software tools, carbon accounting standards
- Data analysis, modelling, and environmental risk assessment
- Communication skills, translating technical sustainability metrics into business decisions
This role bridges science and strategy, essential for ensuring sustainability isn’t just a label but a measurable, managed journey.
4. Green Supply Chain & Procurement Manager (Pharma)
Role & responsibilities:
- Sourcing sustainable raw materials (bio-derived, lower-carbon, recycled)
- Working with suppliers to reduce GHG emissions and waste
- Logistics optimisation (e.g. shipping modes, packaging, reverse logistics)
- Supplier audits, ESG scoring, verification
Skills & knowledge needed:
- Understanding of supply chain, procurement, chemical/material sourcing
- Knowledge of sustainable sourcing standards, ESG frameworks
- Data analytics, supplier management, risk assessment
- Ability to work cross-functionally with R&D, manufacturing, and regulatory
As sustainability becomes embedded in procurement decisions, this role becomes critical to aligning the upstream supply chain with corporate ESG goals.
5. Sustainability Governance & Green HR / Talent Specialist
Role & responsibilities:
- Designing recruitment frameworks that prioritise green credentials
- Embedding sustainability into employer branding and employee incentives
- Setting green KPIs, fostering green culture and behaviour among employees
- Training and development in sustainability skills
Skills & competence:
- Background in HR/talent/people operations with strong sustainability passion
- Understanding of ESG, green behaviour, and corporate responsibility
- Change management, internal communications, behavioural science
In pharma, green HR practices are increasingly seen as a differentiator, not a nice-to-have. The academic literature even suggests that green recruitment practices encourage pro-environmental behaviours among employees.
Recruitment Strategy: How Pharma Must Adapt
1. Embrace skill-based hiring (not only degrees)
Given the novelty of many green roles, companies must shift to evaluating demonstrable competencies rather than rigid degree requirements. A recent study shows that in AI and green jobs in the UK, employers are placing more weight on skills than formal qualifications.
Consider certifications, project portfolios (e.g. sustainability projects), internal hackathons or challenges as proof points.
2. Upskilling & internal mobility
Many companies may lack external candidates with deep green experience initially, so converting existing talent is vital. Offering internal training, mentorship, rotational programmes, or micro-credentials can be a strategic lever.
3. Partner with academia & ecosystem programs
Collaborate with universities, technical schools or sustainability institutes to develop programmes tailored to green pharma needs. Internships, sandwich placements, and lab exposure can help create a pipeline.
4. Use hybrid sourcing & niche networks
Green and sustainability professionals often congregate in different forums (e.g. environmental institutions, sustainability networks). Recruit from cross-disciplinary fields (environmental engineering, chemical process industries) and in adjacent sectors (clean energy, circular economy).
5. Communicate green employer branding clearly
To attract talent in this space, companies must credibly showcase their sustainability vision, reporting, and projects. Talent wants to work for organisations aligned with climate values.
Challenges & Mitigation Strategies
- Talent scarcity: Many green science roles are novel, so the talent pool is shallow. Mitigation: proactive identification of latent or adjacent talent and internal training.
- High competition: In a broader “green skills” war, pharma will compete with energy, cleantech, and industrial sectors.
- Justifying ROI: Senior leadership may struggle to see a return on sustainability investment early. Mitigation: build business cases around cost savings (energy, waste), regulatory risk avoidance, and brand value.
- Regulatory ambiguity: Sustainability standards evolve; roles must be adaptive and regulatory-aware.
- Cross-disciplinary friction: Cultural siloes (R&D vs operations vs sustainability) may resist change; strong change management is needed.
Future Outlook: 2025–2030
- As biopharma expands in modalities (cell/gene therapy, mRNA, biologics), green engineering will become indispensable from day one of process design.
- Regulatory bodies globally are introducing stricter environmental disclosures and potentially “green process standards”, increasing demand for demonstrable sustainability in manufacturing.
- ESG and green credentials will become part of investor and M&A due diligence, making sustainable operations a value driver.
- The line between “process engineer” and “sustainability engineer” may blur; future hires will need to combine both.
- We will likely see standardised green certification programmes for pharma manufacturing (akin to LEED, BREEAM for buildings).
Conclusion
Green biomanufacturing is no longer a niche ambition for life sciences firms; it’s a necessity. The ability to find, develop, and retain people with sustainable engineering, circular bioeconomy insight, and ESG fluency will separate industry leaders from laggards.
As a recruitment specialist in life sciences, PE Global is uniquely positioned to help both clients and candidates navigate this shift: by mapping green competency frameworks, advising on role design, sourcing cross-sector talent, and supporting learning pathways.
