Sustainability in the pharmaceutical supply chain

Nevertheless, the pressure on our entire supply chain is great to think and act more sustainably. As far as this lies within the sphere of influence of packaging, we help companies to do so. We give you some more food for thought here.

Recycled cardboard: why not?

Chances are that you choose sturdy white paperboard for the secondary packaging of your medicines. But why not consider using recycled and unbleached paperboard? And the inside of the box, does it necessarily have to be immaculate white?

We are aware that recycled paperboard is often not used because of issues such as inconsistency and unknown contaminants. But it’s always good to evaluate your options. If you always do what you did, you will get what you always got. If it has to be more sustainable, you have to dare to make that change. For example, to try a different type of material. Often this more sustainable material is more expensive because of all the certifications that are linked to it. But if sustainability is so important, shouldn't it also be more expensive?

Less material. Less environmental impact.

Sounds like a given, but in practice it is still too often ignored, in our experience. A saving on the amount of materials used, directly results in a saving for your wallet and the environment.

As a contract packer, we always consider the ideal dimensions of the packaging components we use, while ensuring the package integrity that is necessary. If the blister or the blister card may be reduced in size within the framework of the laws and regulations, then we present those suggestions to clients.

It's a quick-win.

Energy-efficient and faster packaging

When it comes to secondary packaging, you often have the option of making your own packaging process more energy-efficient and reducing your downtime. Selecting the right packaging machines is critical here. Incidentally, this also applies with outsourcing the packaging process to a contract packer.

As a manufacturer and supplier of packaging machines, Ecobliss Pharmaceutical Packaging always presents the option of converting from heat seal to cold seal for secondary packaging. We have briefly discussed the green benefits of cold seal in chapter 2. Important to remember is that heat seal is an energy-intensive packaging process. The energy consumption is about 5 times greater than for cold seal. Moreover, it is important to take into account a heat up and cool down time, dwell time, increased maintenance costs and downtime due to heat inconsistency in the process, all of which impacts production efficiency and capacity.