Cold transportation remains our single largest environmental challenge, and we are very concerned about the impact of our packaging on the planet and on our customer relations. The implications go beyond our own doors; our packaging creates waste that leaves our customers with disposal issues.
To ensure product quality and safety, more than 50 percent of our products require that they be delivered either refrigerated or frozen. We ship these to our customers in expanded polystyrene (or EPS, sometimes called Styrofoam™) coolers, packed with dry ice or gel ice so that they travel and arrive at their destination at temperatures that maintain product performance.
While our customers value the quality of what we deliver, feedback from around the world continues to indicate that our packaging practices must change, so that our packaging does not become our customers’ waste.
Unfortunately, the number of complaints has increased recently after changes to our shipping practices. To meet our customer’s demands for receiving product on Mondays, we now ship on Fridays and Saturdays. A product leaving our distribution warehouse on Friday needs to stay cool for up to 72 hours, until it can be delivered to the scientist’s bench the following Monday. This increased product transit time requires an upsized cooler to accommodate more dry ice and gel packs.
Step 1: Eliminating the need for cold shipment more
Where feasible, we design new products that can withstand the rigors of ambient shipping conditions. For example, we have found that a portion of our trypsin product line can ship under ambient conditions; our competitors continue to ship this frozen in EPS coolers.
In addition, we are systematically evaluating potential product candidates to convert from cold chain to ambient shipment. In performing stability and performance tests, we seek to demonstrate that short-duration ambient transport has no effect on the immediate and long-term quality of certain products.
Recently we have completed these tests on four classes of assays (TaqMan® Genotyping Assays, TaqMan® Gene Expression Assays, TaqMan® miRNA Assays, and the Megaplex™ PreAmp and RT primer pools). After subjecting these products to simulated ambient summer shipment conditions, they were found to meet the same quality-controlled stability and performance specifications throughout their stated shelf life as assays that were shipped on dry ice. By shipping at ambient conditions, we eliminate 70,000 cu. ft. of EPS (equivalent to filling 694 standard dumpsters) and 250,000 kg of dry ice annually.
Beyond studying the ability of our products to withstand ambient shipping conditions, we also look at alternative manufacturing methods such as lyophilization and vitrification. These drying methods preserve the biological material by removing water, making it less susceptible to temperature variations and more convenient for transport.
One of the company’s best-performing influenza detection kits is our newest lyophilized product. Our lyophilized reagents are being designed with an eye towards stability, both in transport and on customer shelves.
Step 2: Improving the packaging for cold shipment more
For products that must be delivered at cold temperatures, we (1) right-size coolers, (2) use reusable packaging delivery methods, and (3) seek alternative materials.
Right-sized coolers
By decreasing the wall thickness, material density, and size, we have reduced the usage of polystyrene by 30 percent—the equivalent of 52 truckloads per year.
We also stock a range of box sizes to optimize the weight and cooling requirements of the order. An extremely small cooler, the mini-mini, has been designed to ship our smallest products. This cooler uses 17 percent less EPS than the next larger size.
Reusable packaging
We piloted the internal use of bulk reusable coolers in place of EPS coolers. Due to the improved thermal efficiencies of these units, we can reduce our dry ice consumption by 37,000 pounds and eliminate 9,000 pounds of one-way packaging material. We are looking to expand this practice to our customers.
Additionally, we enhanced our product supply centers so that bulk shipments can be received and broken into smaller shipments to go to customers, and/or be hand-delivered so that coolers can be reclaimed and reused.
In Japan, we switched to sturdier flexible plastic coolers that can be returned for reuse by the distributor who hand delivers products to customers. The market in large cities in Japan demands same-day or next-day delivery, so requiring distributors to switch to these more efficient coolers packed with reusable gel ice packs eliminates the need for EPS coolers packed with dry ice.
In Taiwan, we use reusable rigid plastic coolers. Products are hand-delivered to customers, and the coolers are returned by the delivery personnel.
Alternative materials
We are continually researching alternative packaging materials to EPS. We have tested felt, wax-insulated cardboard, insulated padded envelopes, air-filled plastic liner coolers, chiller bags, reusable thermal boxes, and more.
Although none of these alternatives meets the thermal requirements necessary to maintain our product quality standards, we continue to search for innovative alternatives.
