NEB's ClimaCell^® Cooler – a 100% recyclable solution for cold chain shipping

New England Biolabs^® has always placed stewardship of the environment as one of our highest priorities. We are continuously working to promote ecologically sound practices and environmental sustainability, in order to protect our natural resources both locally and globally. It is our goal to continuously improve our business processes to minimize our impact on the environment.

Cold chain shipping has long been a challenge from an environmental standpoint. Many of our products mostly require shipment on ice or dry ice, and maintaining shipping temperature conditions is critical, particularly when shipping long distances or to warmer climates. Expanded polystyrene (EPS), commonly referred to as Styrofoam^®, has always been the gold standard for cold shipping – it is light, durable, and well-known for its insulative properties. Unfortunately, EPS is difficult to recycle, and often makes its way to landfills. To address this, NEB^® has maintained a shipping box recycling program for over 40 years – customers simply use the free return label and send their shipping box back to NEB for re-use. In the meantime, we continued to look for alternative, more sustainable solutions.

We are thrilled to be introducing a 100% recyclable alternative to EPS shipping that maintains the same cold shipping temperature. To implement this, we have partnered with TemperPack^®, a U.S. company that focuses on providing sustainable solutions for cold chain shipping. ClimaCell^® is a paper-based insert that can maintain the required temperature conditions for the duration of your product’s delivery. And the best part – the entire box can be recycled with other corrugated cardboard after unpacking!

Until we identify additional solutions, NEB will still rely on EPS coolers for a portion of our products, including those that require shipment on dry ice (e.g., competent cells), as well as larger shipments. As such, we will still maintain our shipping box recycling program. If you receive an EPS cooler, you are still welcome to use the free return label to send your shipping box back to NEB.