At TemperPack, our mission is simple: Protect products with packaging that protects the planet.

For the last five years, that mission propelled us to work hard to find a replacement for expanded polystyrene (EPS), also known as Styrofoam. EPS has a lot of attributes that make it a great packaging material in many applications, but it is hugely problematic for the environment, from cradle to grave. With the rise of e-commerce, we saw a huge potential surge in the use of Styrofoam to protect perishable foods and temperature-sensitive medicines, and we also saw a huge opportunity to offer something better.

ClimaCell has been recognized as a “World Changing Idea 2020” by Fast Company.

Today that “something better” is ClimaCell.  It offers similar thermal protection as EPS at a similar cost, but uses renewable ingredients, requires significantly less energy to manufacture, and is curbside recyclable.  To date, Climacell has protected over 10 million shipments for companies including HelloFresh, Misfits Market, and Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy.

To us, replacing EPS is an important mission and real opportunity for growth. We learned last week that Fast Company thinks ClimaCell is a World Changing Idea. That’s pretty awesome.

Specifically, ClimaCell was named a Finalist in the Food Category, alongside awesome companies including AKUA, InFarm, AeroFarms, and our good friends and partners at Imperfect Foods.  The whole World Changing Ideas list is here. And this video showcases a few really inspiring ideas outside the food category, including a new innovation from Abbott Labs for babies with congenital heart defects, a new 3D printer that can build a house, and a new innovation giving people in developing countries access to eyeglasses.

It’s an inspiring list. We’re grateful to be a part of it, and ready to keep going.