Sustainability-Special
Why pack temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals the conventional way when you can do it more sustainably?
THE CHALLENGE: more sustainability in the pharmaceutical supply chain
Be it the palpably changing climate, the COVID 19 pandemic, or other urgent environmental issues – more and more people are worried about the state of our planet. That is also true for our customers: the pharmaceutical industry. As their partner of many years, our mission is also to bring: More sustainability into the pharmaceutical supply chain – combined with highest convenience possible for our customers.
THE SOLUTION: sustainable solution YES, re-qualification NO
Our customers want more “green“ in their supply chain – the kind of “green” that can be integrated seamlessly into their processes. And that’s why all our sustainable innovations follow the premise of working without re-qualification. Our approach: We optimize eutecma products, by using sustainable materials in our production. We optimize processes by highlighting the reusability of our products in the pharmaceutical supply chain.
THE OPTIMIZED SYSTEM: Renewable raw materials, recycled raw materials
If you are among those who already use eutecma products, you know that ICECATCH®cool bricks fit into the frames of all PROTECT boxes like a hand into a glove. And now, piece by piece, both system elements (cool bricks and boxes) are being optimized in terms of sustainability through intelligent changes to the materials – not only today but also in the future. More innovations are in the pipeline.
Sugar cane waste instead of plastic: ICECATCH cool bricks
As of late, the PA/PE composite film that encloses our ICECATCH cooling elements, now consists of 50% of bio-based polyethylene made from sugar cane waste materials, a renewable raw material. But this doesn’t change the high quality of our ICECATCH cooling elements even a bit. Stability, tensile strength, and robustness are as high as ever. All cooling elements that belong to the new sustainable generation bear the quality seal “ I’m green“ and a QR code that takes you to more detailed information.
Styropor Ccycled: PROTECT- insulated boxes for the pharmaceutical industry – with our partner BASF
As of late, we’ve also been offering the option of ordering a selection of PROTECT insulated boxes made of Styropor Ccycled, a secondary feedstock made of pyrolysis oil. It is derived from plastic waste in the context of a chemical recycling process and allocated via a certified mass balance approach in the BASF Verbundsystem. The Styropor Ccycled has the same quality as the conventional feedstock but with a much smaller carbon footprint.
By the way: It goes without saying that customers who for whatever reason prefer conventional, non-recycled Styropor, can continue to order PROTECT insulated boxes from eutecma in the conventional set-up.
THE OPTIMIZED PROCESS: less waste through reusability
What would it be like if every PROTECT insulated box and every ICECATCH cool brick could be used and re-used after they have been shipped the first time? That would give you a pharmaceutical packaging solution with a very long life cycle. And the good thing is, this is not just a vision but reality! Our training film ”Reusability Guidelines“ explains visually and in detail what to pay attention to and when elements must be replaced.
