Knowledge / Cost and environmental impact
Assessing the Environmental Impact of Pharmaceutical Thermal Packaging
Whether pharmaceutical thermal packaging has a lower environmental impact depends on more than its material. The assessment also includes cooling elements, preparation energy, outbound and return transport, and disposal. Compare only packaging that protects the same product quantity under the same transport conditions.
Practical guidance
The information needed to assess a packaging system’s environmental benefits: materials, energy, transport, reuse and disposal.
Paper-based thermal packaging. Environmental assessment also records cooling elements, energy requirements and transport.
In this guide
- Describe the transport service being compared
- The data you need
- Recycled content and recyclability are different properties
- Five questions about an environmental or carbon claim
- After how many uses do emissions decrease?
- Recalculate the comparison with fewer returns
- State product protection and the limits of the comparison
Describe the transport service being compared
Define, for example, a specific product quantity, its temperature range and the shipping lane. In a life cycle assessment, this shared service is called the functional unit. It prevents comparisons such as an empty box against a complete shipping solution.
ISO 14040 describes the framework for life cycle assessment: define the goal and scope, record material and energy flows, calculate environmental impacts and interpret the results. Climate impact is one of several possible environmental impacts.
The data you need
- Materials: mass and composition of the shipper, cooling elements, separating parts and outer packaging.
- Preparation: energy for conditioning and, where applicable, cleaning and drying.
- Transport: distances, modes, weight and volume utilisation; for reuse, the return journey as well.
- Use: realistically achievable cycles, losses and spare parts.
- Disposal: separability and the collection and recovery routes available to the recipient.
Identify which values were measured, supplied by the vendor or assumed. The single-use and reusable packaging guide helps with usage data.
Recycled content and recyclability are different properties
Recycled content indicates how much recycled raw material the product contains. Recyclability describes whether the material can be reprocessed after use. Whether that actually happens also depends on local separation, collection and recycling.
For a paper-based insulated shipper, for example, check coatings, composites, contamination and the local recycler’s acceptance conditions. Use only disposal instructions that apply to the specific version. rEPS means EPS with recycled content; this alone does not establish a comparison of overall environmental impact.
Five questions about an environmental or carbon claim
| Topic | Specific question |
|---|---|
| Service compared | What product quantity is transported at which temperatures over which route? |
| Stages included | Are cooling elements, preparation, outbound and return transport, and disposal included? |
| Data | Which year and region do they come from? What was measured and what was assumed? |
| Reuse | How many uses, losses and spare parts were assumed? Which return routes and refurbishment processes apply? |
| Result and review | Does the result concern climate impact or other environmental impacts? Have the method and comparative claim been reviewed? |
A THERMOCON comparison requires data from its own products and transport operations.
After how many uses do emissions decrease?
With reuse, manufacturing emissions are spread over several cycles. Return transport, refurbishment and replacement parts are added. The number of uses required for an advantage must be calculated for the particular comparison.
A simplified calculation structure is manufacturing per system / usable cycles + preparation + transport + refurbishment + allocated disposal per use. All contributions must use the same unit, for example kg CO₂ equivalents. Recycling must also be accounted for using the same method for both options.
The economic threshold in the TCO calculation may be different. Prices, electricity mix and transport modes affect costs and climate impact in different ways.
Recalculate the comparison with fewer returns
Alongside expected conditions, test fewer reuses or a longer return route. This shows whether the calculated advantage remains under actual shipping conditions.
If data are missing, limit the claim to demonstrated properties of the specific version. A documented recycled content can, for example, be stated without inferring an unsubstantiated carbon saving. The pharmaceutical thermal packaging guide explains the technical selection requirements.
State product protection and the limits of the comparison
Packaging that fails to meet product requirements is not an equivalent alternative. If product losses are included in the environmental calculation, they require their own data and justified allocation. Their contribution must neither be assumed to be the largest influence nor omitted without justification.
When presenting a result, state the system compared, transport task and environmental impacts considered. “Lower climate impact under these conditions” is a narrower claim than “more environmentally friendly”. Include a percentage only when the calculation and data support it.
Sources
- ISO 14040:2006 – Life cycle assessment: Principles and framework. Public overview of life cycle assessment principles and structure.
Sources checked on 12 September 2026.
Gather material data for the comparison
Request material masses, cooling element details and disposal information for the offered version. Add energy requirements and transport routes from your operation.