“Sustainability isn’t just about doing the right thing. It’s about making smarter, more cost effective decisions that are really building stronger, more reliable supply chains.”
Christiane Walker, Product Development Team Lead at Intelsius, believes the pharmaceutical industry stands at a critical juncture where environmental responsibility and operational excellence must converge.
Christiane Walker leads the product development team at Intelsius, managing cross-functional teams that design innovative and sustainable packaging solutions. With four years at the company, she brings deep expertise in temperature-controlled transport packaging, working with pharmaceutical clients across global markets to optimise their cold chain operations.
In the latest PharmaSource podcast episode, Christiane explains how pharmaceutical companies can simultaneously reduce their carbon footprint, cut operational costs, and improve supply chain resilience through strategic adoption of sustainable packaging technologies and connected digital systems.
Implement Reusable Packaging Systems for Long-Term Carbon Reduction
The shift from single-use to reusable packaging represents one of the most impactful changes pharmaceutical companies can make to their supply chain sustainability. However, many organisations struggle to understand the true environmental and financial benefits of this transition.
“The principle of reusable versus single use packaging is something we’re seeing across all industries in everyday life, and it’s the same concept that’s applying to cold chain packaging. It’s about keeping materials in supply chains for longer,” Christiane explains.
The environmental mathematics prove compelling when calculated over extended timeframes. Third-party life cycle analysis demonstrates clear carbon advantages for multi-use systems despite higher initial footprints.
“We’ve done third party product life cycle analysis that shows our VIP based Orca multi use system has a cradle to grave carbon footprint of about 46 kilogrammes of CO2, compared to just 16 kilogrammes for a single use EPS based system. But when you start thinking about this over five years, the Orca multi use is designed to last five years, so it will surpass the single use option in carbon efficiency after just three uses, and anything after that is just an improvement.”
Cost considerations require careful evaluation of shipping frequency and volume. Whilst reusable systems demand higher initial investment, the per-use cost becomes significantly lower when spread across multiple shipments over a five-year period. High-performance solutions like vacuum insulated panels and advanced phase change materials deliver additional cost savings through optimised volumetric weight in shipping.
Deploy Connected Digital Systems for Proactive Supply Chain Management
Traditional temperature monitoring relies on reactive, post-shipment validation that provides limited operational value. Connected digital systems transform this approach by enabling real-time visibility and proactive intervention across entire logistics networks.
“We’re seeing a rise in multi use connected data loggers embedded across the entire logistics network – warehouses, transport vehicles, storage equipment – enabling real time data visibility and alerts at every stage of the cold chain,” Christiane notes.
The operational advantages extend far beyond simple temperature monitoring. Connected systems collect multiple data types including location tracking to prevent lost shipments, whilst live temperature data enables precise resource management rather than worst-case scenario planning.
“Continuous temperature monitoring allows customers to respond immediately to temperature excursions, helping reduce product waste. Things like dry ice shipments without live temperature data often require extra dry ice as precaution based on worst case validated scenarios. Live temperature data enables dry ice topping up only when truly needed, lowering carbon emissions.”
Long-term data collection creates strategic value through shipping lane mapping and customised validation profiles. Rather than relying on theoretical shipping conditions, companies can develop packaging validation based on real-world performance data.
“Connected device networks provide valuable data that helps customers optimise their logistics routes and processes, allowing customers to pick the most cost effective and sustainable routes. Long term data collection allows customers to gather real life ambient environment data across all of their logistics routes.”
Adopt Rental Models for Maximum Flexibility and Cost Efficiency
Rental models address the fundamental challenge of balancing sustainability goals with operational flexibility. Traditional purchasing models burden pharmaceutical companies with significant upfront investments and ongoing maintenance responsibilities that may not align with variable shipping demands.
“Rental models offer customers flexibility. They allow them to scale up or down in response to changing demands, without the need for significant stock holding. Rentals give access to a wide variety of packaging – different types, different sizes and different features as needed,” Christiane explains.
The sustainability benefits align with circular economy principles by keeping materials in active use rather than sitting idle in corporate warehouses. When packaging reaches end-of-life, rental providers handle refurbishment and proper disposal, removing operational complexity from pharmaceutical companies.
“Rental systems are built around circular economy principles, keeping materials in the supply chain for longer and out of landfill. When packaging is returned, it’s refurbished and reused, removing the responsibility from customers to clean, maintain, or manage end of life disposal.”
Compliance and support represent additional rental model advantages. Providers typically handle preconditioning and maintenance, ensuring regulatory compliance and performance reliability whilst offering hands-on support tailored to specific shipment requirements.
“Rental providers typically handle preconditioning and maintenance, ensuring regulatory compliance and performance reliability. Customers can benefit from hands on support which is tailored to each shipment.”
This model proves particularly valuable for companies with irregular shipping volumes, those testing new markets, or organisations seeking to minimise capital expenditure whilst maintaining access to high-performance packaging solutions.
Find out more about Intelsius on their website
