The pharmaceutical industry is facing pressure from the
public and governments to reduce its environmental impact.
As focus shifts towards reducing carbon emissions, the
pharmaceutical industry finds itself facing a dilemma in maintaining strict
safety standards while improving its environmental credentials.
In an article, “Cutting Waste in the Cold Chain”, Geraint
Thomas, technical director at Laminar Medica wrote: “The suppliers and users of
temperature-controlled packaging systems are under increasing pressure to
reduce the environmental impact of cold chain shipping. The widespread
introduction of formal corporate social responsibility policies, together with
new customer expectations and more strict regulations, mean that developing a
suitable packaging system is more challenging than ever.”
But can a resource and energy-intensive area like cold chain
ever become truly sustainable? The Cold Chain IQ article, “Can the Cold Chain
Ever Become Truly Sustainable?” addressed this challenge: “In many countries
around the world the idea of an environmentally friendly cold chain is just not
viable. This does not represent a lack of commitment to green issues, but more
the challenge of establishing even a basic cold chain in the first place.”
Thomas explained the importance of considering how your
temperature-controlled packing system impacts on the environment, and suggested
approaches for minimizing waste and costs.
“While it might seem at first necessary to reduce the amount
of packaging used, it is important to note that under packaging is usually far
worse for the environment than over-packaging. Over-packaging by 10 percent
means that 10 percent of the resources needed to produce the packaging are
wasted, and extra fuel will be needed to distribute it. However,
under-packaging that results in the product being spoiled or damaged wastes 100
percent of the resources used to produce both the contents and its packaging,
and all the fuel used to distribute it," he said.
Mark Goh, director of industry research, The Logistics
Institute of Asia Pacific, told Cold Chain IQ, in order to “go green” in the
pharmaceutical cold chain, you must first identify the areas where you can
green and which are going to be more amenable.
He said: “I think the low hanging fruit in this case would
be the secondary packaging. And today the good news is there are smart, astute
service providers out there in the marketplace focusing on making sure that
packaging is reusable and particularly in the area of secondary packaging.”
Goh commented on the fact that we are already seeing
investment by logistics providers in this area. “Good service providers in
logistics, such as UPS and DHL in fact have invested good money into this area.
One example that UPS is doing is to look at the end of life of products and
packaging. If done correctly it goes along way to recapture much of what we
produce and not really consume directly. Today in the context of Asia, there
are legislations that are driving the use for reusable packaging more so than
the customers or the companies themselves, and that is a good sign,” he
continued.
However, there are still many doubts as to how green the
pharmaceutical cold chain can be. “Personally I doubt if we could have an
entire green cold chain from source to point of supply. Certain links can
certainly be greener than others. The biggest challenge would be to have green
vehicles, which often form at least three links in the chain,” John Ackerman,
chairman South African Refrigerated Distribution Assn., said to Pharma IQ.
The participants were asked to pinpoint three main solutions
in which their organization was investing to improve the temperature-controlled
supply chain.
The balancing act of reducing the environmental impact of
pharmaceutical cold chain distribution while reducing cost is growing in
importance among all stakeholders.
Building a robust, green pharmaceutical cold chain is not
just about the packaging. Installation of renewable energy technology at the
warehouse and utilizing alternative fuels during distribution are also avenues
being explored for reducing the supply chain's carbon footprint.
This exploration looks set to continue as companies seek to
implement green strategies efficiently and that can ultimately reduce cost.
Article contributed by Andrea Charles, Cold Chain IQ editor.
Healthcare Packaging magazine recently signed a marketing partnership with
global events producer IQPC to expand each organization’s reach into the cold
chain packaging and logistics marketplace. The agreement will include coverage
of the 10th Anniversary Cold Chain & Temperature Management Global Forum
event in Chicago Sept. 24-28, 2012.
Source: healthcarepackaging
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