The healthcare industry is a major contributor to climate change - emitting 4.4% of global emissions. One of the main reasons behind this is the carbon-intensive nature of air transportation. To help combat this, researchers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) published a groundbreaking study on analyzing and reducing carbon emissions in healthcare shipping.

Determining the ideal cold chain container for CO₂ optimization isn't always a straightforward process. There are three types of cold chain containers that can protect temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals during transport - active, passive and SkyCell’s hybrid design. Each container solution has different specifications such as volume, weight and reusability, all of which affect their CO₂ performance.

The exceptional reliability, reduced volumetric weight, and remarkable CO₂ reductions throughout the logistics lifecycle (including reverse logistics) position hybrid containers as a prime choice for environmentally conscious transport. This exceptional performance demonstrates that innovation, sustainability, and practicality can all come together seamlessly.

How was this conclusion reached?

The MIT CTL researchers developed the world’s first door-to-door carbon emission estimation and allocation tool tailored for cold-chain logistics in the pharmaceutical industry. The tool provides new insight unseen in previous studies as it incorporates network-level emissions and volumetric weights. This enables a more granular approach for estimating transport emissions of the pharmaceutical cold chain.

The goal of the study was to establish a transparent and standardized CO₂ calculation tool. By doing so, pharma and logistics companies are empowered to make well-informed decisions regarding the carbon footprint of their transport and encourage environmentally conscious practices in the industry.

How Hybrid containers compare to traditional containers

MIT CTL applied the newly developed open-source tool to three exemplary containers: an active, passive, and a SkyCell 1500X hybrid, across both medium-haul and long-haul pharma lanes. 

The study took into consideration a 360° view – from the performance of the system category, the emissions during transport, pre-conditioning, and end-of-life.

MIT CTL compared a shipment of 1 m3 of 250 kg payload from Frankfurt to Philadelphia for all exemplary cooling containers.

The study also shed light onto frequently underestimated aspects of the shipping solutions industry – the end of life concerning passive and reverse logistics for rental systems. As specialists understand, the majority of pharmaceuticals are manufactured in limited locations and distributed worldwide, resulting in a significant container rental imbalance within the sector.

Consequently, reverse logistics and its associated CO₂ emissions play a significant role in the bigger picture. However, in most cases, this approach still proves more environmentally favorable in terms of the overall CO₂ footprint when compared to one-way systems.

The reasons for this low carbon footprint of hybrid containers are their minimal volumetric weight and optimized design for oceanic reversals.

Nico Ros, CTO of SkyCell: “Sustainability is a core value at SkyCell's foundation. In the development of hybrid containers, our focus was clear: they must excel in temperature performance, and be superior in volumetric weight – as this significantly lowers cost and CO₂ for our clients; and needs to be optimized to reverse on ocean. I am greatly pleased that the MIT CTL study has validated my perspective.”

MIT CTL’s first door-to-door carbon emission estimation and allocation tool is a significant step in the right direction for a transparent and standardized measurement of carbon emissions in the transportation of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals. SkyCell is pleased by this groundbreaking work of the researchers Lehmann, Winkenbach, and Janjevic, of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, which was supported by our sustainability team.