Multi-use distribution system for clinical supplies
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche; www.roche.com) is also improving waste management and circularity. The Roche clinical supply network is sending out thousands of shipments to hospitals and pharmacies in temperature controlled small volume shipping systems throughout the world. These systems were, until 2021, single-use (i.e. cardboard boxes) and could not be used anymore, resulting in large amounts of waste at the destination site and CO2 emissions as well.
In 2021, Roche implemented a multi-use shipping solution for cold and controlled temperature shipments. The transport boxes are now collected by the receiver and then returned to Roche after their use. In this way, a significant amount of waste can be avoided CO2 reduced by reusing shipping systems multiple times.
Investigations showed that waste materials have been reduced by 84% and the carbon footprint of the overall multi-use solution by more than 60%. Furthermore, the new strategy is more cost efficient than single previous single use system. Overall, several sustainability aspects could be improved in one go: carbon footprint, material waste, cost and transport efficiency (the new system is lighter than the previous solution, and more boxes can be transported in one truck) and reliable performance.
While there is the new element of transporting the empty boxes back to the Roche distribution point, with corresponding CO2-emissions, there is still a high benefit for the environment. 84% of the overall CO2-emissions of the previous solution were related to the packaging materials itself, not the transport!
This solution is now expanded to more countries and global applications.
Country
Germany
Name of Organization
GERMANY F. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., global project