Packaging

Baxter works to decrease the environmental impact of packaging by reducing the amount of packaging used and substituting for environmentally-preferable materials. (See Priority Update: Baxter Will Drive Reductions in its Natural Resource Use.) The company implemented projects that achieved an annualized reduction of 140 metric tons of corrugated cardboard consumption in 2010. Total annualized savings since 2007 equal 3,500 metric tons.¹

Packaging Reductions in Latin America

People with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) - irreversible kidney failure - need dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive. Due to a shortage of organ donors, most ESRD patients use dialysis to cleanse their blood of toxins, waste and excess fluid normally removed by healthy kidneys. Patients who choose peritoneal dialysis (PD), a self-administered home therapy, store the solutions required for this treatment in their homes.

In 2008, Baxter’s facility in Cuernavaca, Mexico started a project to reduce the packaging size for the Renal solution cartons, decreasing corrugated waste by more than 1,500 metric tons annually by the end of 2010 while saving money and enhancing packaging strength. Since the original supplier could not meet the new design requirements, Baxter worked with a new vendor to decrease the impact of transporting the product, reducing the total number of corrugate slip sheets required by 4-6%, depending on the box configuration. This example demonstrates how Baxter can successfully drive a greener product (via light weighting) in its own supply chain, thereby creating more sustainable products.

Building on this success, the Cuernavaca site also redesigned the cardboard boxes for Baxter’s 250mL and 500mL intravenous (IV) bags for Baxter’s Medical Products business. The changes will save an estimated 1,100 metric tons of packaging and $1.2 million annually.

In Colombia in 2010, Baxter reduced foil consumption in a mini-cap used for Renal products, decreasing packaging material use by 6 metric tons annually. Also in Colombia, Baxter redesigned packaging for the product Hemosol, saving 11 tons of HDPE plastic and 12 tons of corrugate during the year.

United Kingdom Reduces Plastic Pour Bottle Weight

In Thetford, United Kingdom, Baxter has developed an efficient process to manufacture a pour bottle used for irrigation of open wounds after surgery, producing a container from plastic granules, and then filling and sealing it in one operation. Extra plastic from molding is then removed, re-ground and re-used. In 2009, the site launched an effort to further improve the procedure.

The first step decreased the height of the 1 liter and 500mL containers by 12mm, decreasing material use by approximately 5%. In the second step, the site reduced bottle thickness, after conducting trials to confirm that modification would not impact packaging integrity or shelf life. This change decreased materials use by another 5%. Together, these modifications saved 54 tons of HDPE plastic on an annualized basis.

More Efficient Parenteral Nutrition Packaging in China

Parenteral nutrition, administered intravenously, provides life-sustaining support for patients who cannot receive adequate nutrients through other means. Baxter’s products in this area include solutions, container systems, admixing technology and vitamin and mineral formulas.

Baxter’s facility in Guangzhou, China decreased the packing foam used to protect one of its parenteral nutrition products, without impacting product protection. This change reduced the packaging weight for each unit by 24%, an annualized savings of 8.6 metric tons.