New ambient temperature packaging represents a 90% reduction in shipment packaging mass

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science,  introduced more sustainable packaging for 125,000 of its Invitrogen™ antibodies. Transitioning from cold-chain packaging to ambient temperature shipping from distribution center to customer reduces package material mass, improves the customer experience and supports the company’s global sustainability efforts.

Through functional and stability testing, Thermo Fisher has demonstrated that a significant portion of its Invitrogen antibody portfolio can be maintained at ambient temperature conditions during transport. By eliminating the use of cold gel packs and introducing a new 100% curbside recyclable paper packaging for customers, Thermo Fisher expects to eliminate more than 216,000 pounds of paper and 440,000 pounds of gel ice packs per year. This new packaging represents a 90% reduction in shipment mass, improves freight density and reduces carbon emissions.

"Our ambient shipping initiative is a response to our customers' expectations and demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and innovation," said Ellie Mahjubi, vice president, protein cell analysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific. "We are proud to launch this critical change, delivering on Thermo Fisher's Mission to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We believe this transition will have a considerable impact on the global research community by reducing packaging waste and transport emissions without compromising the quality of our antibodies."

"Antibodies are important to our work in genetics and genomics," said Graham Erwin, assistant professor, molecular and human genetics, Baylor College of Medicine. "This more sustainable shipping solution helps simplify our laboratory's operations by reducing packaging waste and minimizing our environmental impact without compromising on our research goals."

A Sustainable Evolution of Packaging

The introduction of ambient shipping and Sustainable Forestry Initiative-certified packaging marks the latest advancements in Thermo Fisher’s commitment to more sustainable shipping. Thermo Fisher also ships many temperature sensitive products in a paper cooler as a more sustainable alternative to other coolers for products that still require shipping at low temperatures.