2022 Impact Report
In 2022, we expanded our solutions to displace single use plastic packaging, through:
Acquiring KTM Industries and their compostable Green Cell Foam
Launching WaveKraft, an on-demand, curbside recyclable, paper insulation system
But protecting the earth also means understanding our own impact, setting goals for reducing that impact, and sharing all that information with stakeholders. If you’ve made it to our website and are reading this, you’re a stakeholder. We welcome any feedback you have.
Our impact on the environment .
As a company dedicated to reducing the environmental burden of packaging, it matters to us that we know the impact of not only what we make, but how we make it.
Scope 1
814MT of CO2e
This number includes gas for trucks, natural gas, and propane used in our operations in 2022.
Scope 2
3,992MT of CO2e
This number includes purchased electricity used at all five facilities in 2022.
Scope 3
18,321MT of CO2e
This estimate comes from partial data from upstream and downstream activities, including raw material production, transportation, and disposal of our products. Emission calculations sourced from our LCA model built in SimaPro using EcoInvent and DATASMART databases. As our first year disclosing Scope 3, we expect this number to be more accurate next year, with the inclusion of employee travel and other material categories.
Intensity Factors by Product
| 2021 | 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ClimaCell | |||
|
Scope 1 + 2 (KG CO2e per Kit) |
0.11 | 0.15 | |
| kWh per Kit | 0.31 | 0.30 | |
| Green Cell Foam (Q3/Q4 2022) | |||
|
Scope 1 + 2 (KG CO2e per Kit) |
- | 0.04 | |
| kWh per Kit | - | 0.07 | |
Intensity Factors by Facility
| Scope 1 | Scope 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ClimaCell (KG CO2e/kit) | |||
| Richmond, VA | 0.035 | 0.089 | |
| Las Vegas, NV | 0.006 | 0.179 | |
| Green Cell Foam (KG CO2e/board foot) | |||
| Holt, MI | 0.008 | 0.032 | |
| Reno, NV | 0.004 | 0.028 | |
Increasing efficiency within our facilities.
On the ClimaCell side of the business, we made some material changes in our manufacturing process in our Richmond facility in 2022, which led to a 8 percent decrease in kWh per kit used.
We also ramped up a second manufacturing line in Las Vegas, which accounts for the increase in per kit kWh out of that facility.
| Facility | 2021 | 2022 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond, VA | 0.268 | 0.249 | -8% |
| Las Vegas, NV | 0.367 | 0.383 | 4% |
- Waste Diversion -
Cleaning House, One Step at a Time
By partnering with local material experts, we’ve diverted the following from ending up in landfills:
3,000 lbs
of food and organic waste from landfill by composting with NOPE
X lbs
of mixed paper, plastic, and metals by recycling with TFC Recycling
X lbs
of flexible plastic and hard to recycle materials through TerraCycle
In 2022, we protected over 30 million shipments of perishable goods with ClimaCell. By replacing their EPS insulation with ClimaCell, our customers avoided the creation of 40 million KG of CO2e.
That's the same as...
600K+
trees being planted and grown for 10 years.
+23%
increase over 2021
1.5MM+
light bulbs changed from incandescent to LED.
+18%
increase over 2021
8.6K+
cars taken off the road for an entire year.
+35%
increase over 2021
7K+
American home’s electricity use for an entire year.
+22%
increase over 2021
Our benchmarks on social responsibility.
“I found TemperPack when I was looking for a job with a company more aligned with my personal values. I was determined to find a company that was creating and facilitating change to help our planet.”
— Mollie Jarrett, Account Management, 4 years at TemperPack
Statistics
We're an ambitious company looking to do right by our employees.
71%
Response Rate to our Employee Engagement Survey
78%
Work Force “diversity” rate
Diverse is defined as traditionally under-represented groups across criteria including gender, race, or ethnicity.
33%
of our work force is female.
According to the US Census, women make up only 30% of manufacturing workforce across the United States. As an American manufacturing company, we are proud to have a higher-than-average proportion of women in our workforce and embed programs, such as the LADIES Network, to support our women in career and leadership development.
L.A.D.I.E.S Group
After establishing the Leadership and Development In Executing Success (L.A.D.I.E.S) in 2020, TemperPack has continued to invest and empower its workforce for all genders by partnering with Cascade Leadership Partners for career development coaching. The group plans to use this training to launch a peer-to-peer coaching program to problem-solve and strengthen cross-functional relationships as the company continues to grow.
MRF Visit
In November, our sales, product engineering, and sustainability teams visited our regional material recovery facility, TFC Recycling, in central Virginia. In addition to deepening our ongoing relationship with stakeholders who process our product at the end of its life, the visit yielded industry insights for our team to apply to sustainable packaging design and market growth.
Family Day
This fall, TemperPack hosted our inaugural Family Day at each facility in Virginia in Nevada to share our mission with family and friends. Volunteers hosted guided tours of our manufacturing plants, highlighting the history of our purpose and our commitment to innovation in both our products and our process.
Evaluating the governance of our business .
Our company’s commitment to maintaining ethical and responsible practices in all aspects of our operations, including our management structure, decision-making processes, and overall corporate governance.
- Governance -
In 2021, we partnered with Goldman Sachs Asset Management for an equity fundraising round. This strategic move enabled us to expand our operations and increase our market share while also gaining access to Goldman Sachs' expertise in building value across the enterprise, including best practices in ESG.
Materiality Topics
Identified 3 Material Topics: Climate Change, Product Excellence, and Manufacturing Efficiency that will shape our goals
ESG Committee
After establishing our ESG Committee in 2021, the group expanded to include the SVP of Sales, VP of Supply Chain, and CFO to oversee sustainability reporting, communication, and set goals for improving our impact.
ISO Certification
Our manufacturing facilities in Richmond, Virginia and Las Vegas, Nevada both feature ISO certification.
ISTA Certification
We maintained our ISTA certification in our Richmond testing and R&D facility, Proving Ground. With the KTM Industries acquisition, we've added a second testing facility to our portfolio in Holt, Michigan.
In 2022, our ISTA Certified lab was busy testing thermal performance of ClimaCell against incumbent insulation materials to curate custom pack outs for our customers.
663
Customer Pack-outs Tested
146
Custom Lab Reports Published
- Strategic Partnerships -
Lastly, we have purposefully surrounded ourselves with partners who help us stay informed and provide counsel when needed. In addition to our board, these include:
Clinton Global Initiative
In August 2022, we were asked to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative, an event that brings together those that are taking action on the world’s most pressing challenges. The event, put on by the Clinton Foundation focused on taking action together, and shed light on solutions like ClimaCell, helping eliminate the need for plastic-based insulating products.
Improving our impact in 2022
Product Composition
Reduced the thickness of LDPE coating of our outer paper by 50% and increased the usable fiber in our outer paper, making it more valuable to MRFs and paper mills.
Silo Project
Reducing trucks, reducing carbon in upstream activity, increasing efficiency and air quality of manufacturing plant.
WaveKraft
Launched WaveKraft, paper-based thermal insulation that reduces truck deliveries by 10x.
Our goals for 2023.
We think the best packaging solutions are one’s that use the least amount of material necessary, require the smallest amount of energy to produce, and can be produced, stored, and disposed of as efficiently as possible. With that in mind, here are our goals for 2023.
Build a Green Cell Foam vs. EPS comparative LCA model and submit it for panel for review to understand the product’s environmental impact.
Develop a more robust methodology for calculating Scope 3 emissions for our top material categories.
Reduce safety TRIR incidents by 25% for 2023.
Complete audit of supply chain to bolster transparency, mitigate risks, and find opportunities for greater efficiencies and improved environmental impacts.
Develop baseline impact metrics for our new WaveKraft product line.
Why we built WaveKraft.
A really good idea will tend to haunt you.
At TemperPack, discovering those ideas is our job. The Nobel prize-winning Hungarian scientist Albert Szent-Györgyi once stated that, “Discovery is simply seeing what everyone else has seen – but thinking what no-one else has thought.”
In 2015, upstart meal-kit companies were faced with a major packaging problem. They needed to figure out how to send millions of boxes of fresh food to houses across the country each week – without using Styrofoam coolers to keep items cold.
This is when (and why) we started TemperPack.
Our first discovery was jute – a natural fiber grown in South Asia but cheaply available in the US in the form of discarded burlap bags used for coffee and cacao imports. We also discovered that bedding and felt companies in the US had available capacity due to the rising popularity of foam mattresses. We connected the dots and started making thin, compostable insulation blankets from 100% recycled jute fibers. We pitched this as a new type of packaging that was highly insulating, flexible, plant-based, cushioning – and available at a low cost. The idea caught on and from 2015 to 2018, TemperPack manufactured and sold tens of millions of pounds of plant fiber packaging insulation. During this time, we also developed and commercialized PopBox, which allowed customers to replace millions of non-recyclable bubble foil liners with a fully recyclable, paper-based box liners.
We were in business...
but we weren’t totally comfortable (and I hope we never are).
We constantly asked our customers to imagine better versions of our products. What would it look like? What would it allow them to do more effectively? They told us that a better version of our plant fiber insulation would be compatible with the paper recycling stream, and that it would be lighter, faster to pack, and more rigid. They said a better version of our product would have tighter tolerances, a more consistent fit, and a wider performance range. It should be cheaper, and it should also be available in even larger volumes. It should be natural, but not “too natural” – no dust or noticeable smell. Clean & consistent. And they wanted it nationwide.
So we went out to discover. After inventing and discarding several novel material concepts – we noticed that food snacks (like Cheetos, made from puffed corn) were lightweight, cheap, renewable and had surprisingly good insulating qualities due to their foam structure. They were water soluble. They also could be made anywhere and, being made of starch, possessed a natural adhesive quality. We invented insulation panels that combined paper with puffed corn starch to line the walls of a cardboard box. We named the new product “ClimaCell”. Today, ClimaCell (along with our Green Cell Foam product line) is being produced across the country, protecting millions of food shipments each week.
But we're still not satisfied with our products...
and will never be.
About 18 months ago, we again asked our customers to imagine a better version of packaging. Again – what would it look like? What would it allow them to do more effectively? This time, they didn’t describe a “faster horse”. They told us about the burden of receiving multiple truckloads a day of packaging insulation, and the pain of storage and inventory management. They told us about the challenge of multi-week lead times. In short, they didn’t tell us about a better version of packaging insulation, they lamented the fact that packaging insulation was necessary to begin with. This was key because, as Peter Drucker says, “Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all”.
This is why we invented WaveKraft. It makes storage in a fulfillment center disappear.
WaveKraft is made from paper and is easily recycled with the cardboard box that consumers get each week. WaveKraft is also made on a machine that is 99% smaller than a traditional manufacturing operation – meaning that customers can put a machine right on their floor. Using WaveKraft for a year, customers can avoid over 1,000 inbound trucks and reclaim 80% of the storage space that they currently use for packaging insulation. We’re excited to offer a solution that is not only cheaper, but far more versatile and easier to use than what’s available on the market today.
Had you told me in 2015 that we would have a team of 600+ spread across 4 manufacturing sites producing millions of sustainable packaging products each week I might not have believed you. But I’ve learned that growth happens when you relentlessly do what you feel you are unqualified to do. We’re excited to launch WaveKraft – and we’re excited to make it better. Our customers will always be the foundation of our drive to invent. Whatever we do, it’ll never be good enough – and that’s why I love going to work.
- James McGoff
Chief Product Officer
& Co-founder
TemperPack
WaveKraft
Our latest invention.
Designed for operations. Sustainable by design.
We believe the best packaging solution is one that uses the smallest amount of necessary material, can be stored as efficiently as possible, and can be easily recycled. We have always set these guiding principles when we develop new products, and WaveKraft is no different. If you’re ready to revolutionize your fulfillment operation, let’s talk.
TemperPack Closes Acquisition of KTM Industries, Inc.
TemperPack Closes Acquisition of KTM Industries, Inc.
Richmond, VA – September 6, 2022 – TemperPack® Technologies, Inc, a manufacturer of sustainable materials for cold chain packaging, announced that it has closed the acquisition of KTM Industries, Inc.
The acquisition was first announced on August 2nd, 2022.
KTM Industries is the maker of Green Cell Foam, a starch-based insulation material that is one of the protect perishable food and life science shipments. With this move, TemperPack will be able to offer customers an expanded product line and increased market coverage. The combined enterprise will have over 700 employees in four U.S. locations: Holt, MI, Las Vegas, NV, Reno, NV, and its headquarters in Richmond, VA.
“We’re thrilled to have completed the transaction and come together as one TemperPack. We’re excited to begin the process of working together to integrate our businesses and build on our strengths. Together, we are committed to bringing the market protective materials that are better for people and the planet.”
— Bob Beckler, Chairman and CEO
About TemperPack
TemperPack is the largest producer of sustainable cold chain materials for food and life sciences products in the U.S. The company’s mission is simple: protect products with materials that protect the planet. TemperPack was founded in 2015 to allow enterprises to ship perishable products without unnecessary plastic waste. Headquartered in Richmond, VA, with operations in Holt, MI, Las Vegas, NV, and Reno, NV, the company develops and scales innovative solutions that disrupt unsustainable packaging technologies. TemperPack’s products protect millions of shipments every month.
TemperPack Acquires KTM Industries, Inc.
TemperPack brings on Green Cell Foam, expanding its footprint in sustainable, protective materials
Richmond, Virginia (August 02, 2022) – TemperPack® Technologies, a manufacturer of high- performance, sustainable thermal insulation for cold chain packaging, announced today that the company has reached an agreement to acquire KTM Industries, subject to customary closing conditions. With this move, TemperPack will be able to offer customers an expanded product line and increased market coverage. Once the transaction is closed, the combined enterprise will have over 700 employees in four U.S. locations: Richmond, VA; Las Vegas, NV; Reno, NV; and Holt, MI.
The acquisition brings together two industry leaders in the development of renewable materials to compete with plastic foams and other harmful materials used in cold-chain and non-thermal, protective packaging. As TemperPack integrates teams, systems, and operations, it will leverage the capacity and expertise at each facility to offer customers the right solutions to meet their needs.
“We are exceptionally pleased to bring together these two companies with disruptive technologies and complementary, high-performance products including ClimaCell and Green Cell Foam to serve the rapidly growing need for sustainable, protective materials. The strategic fit of TemperPack and KTM could not be stronger. ”
— Bob Beckler, Chairman and CEO
Tim Colonnese, President and CEO of KTM, said “This is an exciting milestone for us, one that will create great opportunities to expand Green Cell Foam. We are fully aligned with the mission of TemperPack which is to provide engineered, protective materials that eliminate the need for synthetic foams which harm the environment. We are pleased to be joining forces with one of the most innovative and fast-growing companies in the industry.”
The transaction is expected to close in August, 2022.
About TemperPack
TemperPack is the largest producer of sustainable cold chain materials for food and life sciences products in the U.S. The company’s mission is simple: protect products with materials that protect the planet. TemperPack was founded in 2015 to allow enterprises to ship perishable products without unnecessary plastic waste. Headquartered in Richmond, VA, and with operations in Richmond and Las Vegas, Nevada, the company develops and scales innovative solutions that disrupt unsustainable packaging technologies. TemperPack’s products protect millions of shipments every month.
About KTM Industries
Green Cell Foam, a product of KTM Industries Inc., is a unique natural, environmentally friendly packaging material. Available since 2002, Green Cell Foam provides customers with an eco-conscious, compostable alternative made from cornstarch. The company provides design, testing and fabrication services at its Holt, Michigan and Reno, Nevada facilities. KTM has helped customers replace undesirable expanded polystyrene foam coolers in the pharmaceutical, specialty food and nutritional supplement industries, preventing over 10 million plastic-based coolers from filling landfills across the country.
2021 Impact Report
Helping companies reduce.
Our mission as a company is to protect products with materials that protect the Earth. When it comes to protecting the Earth, our primary focus has always been inventing new packaging solutions to displace single use plastic. But protecting the earth also means understanding our own impact, setting goals for reducing that impact, and sharing all that information with stakeholders. If you’ve made it to our website and are reading this, you’re a stakeholder. We welcome any feedback you have.
Scope 1 Emissions
This is an estimate of emissions from our own facilities and assets, based on educated assumptions about the fuel used by vehicles we’ve leased and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Transportation Fuel Tool. In our 2022 report, we will include any other direct emissions that come from other owned equipment (e.g. refrigeration, boilers, furnaces).
210MTCo2e
Scope 2 Emissions
Energy we purchased from Dominion Energy and Nevada Power for all three of our manufacturing and corporate facilities. Approximately 17% of that energy use came from renewable sources, including solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, or nuclear.
2,602MTCo2e
Water Use
Water used in our Richmond manufacturing facilities. In our 2022 report, we hope to include our Las Vegas plant water usage.
14,746m³
Water Deep Dive
Fresh water is perhaps our most valuable resource. As part of our Life Cycle Assessment, which was audited by Long Trail Sustainability, we wanted to better understand our water use across the whole life cycle of our product.
1.27m³
Total water use in a typical ClimaCell solution, which includes the cardboard box and the packaging materials in which they are shipped to our customers:
Cardboard Box
ClimaCell Liner Material
Distribution Materials
Distribution
Electricity
Manufacturing
29,500
Comparing to EPS
By using ClimaCell instead of EPS, we avoided the creation of 29,500 MT of CO2e
Our ClimaCell® thermal liners were invented to be a curbside recyclable alternative to expanded polystyrene foam (EPS, Styrofoam®). When our customers choose ClimaCell over EPS, they prevent the release of toxins into the environment and keep waste out of landfills.
That's the same as...
6,357Cars
taken off the road for an entire year.
487K+ Trees
being planted and grown for 10 years.
3.5MM+ Smartphones
charged for a year.
1.1MM+ Light bulbs
changed from incandescent to LED.
13K
Pounds of waste diverted in 2021 using TerraCycle, N.O.P.E, and TFC recycling in our Richmond facilities.
Cleaning House, One Step at a Time
Minimizing waste sent to landfill is a motivation in our office, too. We’re launching a new partnership with CleanRiver, to help us develop a new waste station made out of recycled content that will help capture more of our waste and get it recycled. This upgrade in how we capture waste builds on existing relationships:
TerraCycle
for capturing difficult to recycle materials (wrappers, films) that normally require a trip to an off-side facility.
N.O.P.E. Compost
for capturing food and compostable packaging waste.
TFC Recycling
for capturing traditional paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum recycling.
2022 Goals for Environmental Impact ·
Scope 3 Emissions
We’re working to better understand our upstream and downstream impact to estimate and report our Scope 3 emissions.
Comparative LCA
We’re completing a 3rd-party verified, ISO compliant Life Cycle Assessment comparing ClimaCell to other materials.
Safety First
As a manufacturer, our #1 priority is Safety. We implemented additional safety training and awards in 2021 to deepen our focus on safety, and our Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) improved 10% compared to 2020. That’s great, but our goal for TRIR is zero. That’s nearly unheard of in a manufacturing operation of our scale, but that remains our focus every day.
DEI
We want TemperPack to be a place where people feel they belong, are free to be themselves, and empowered to do their best work.
This year, our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force continued to promote inclusiveness in the company culture and track progress against our DEI priorities.
- We surveyed employees (anonymously) on their thoughts and perspectives on our efforts on diversity, equity, and inclusion; recommendations for improvements; and evaluation of our leadership’s focus on promoting opportunities for everyone at TemperPack, regardless of differences.
- We have specific, measurable diversity improvement goals that are reviewed by senior executives or our Board of Directors.
- We have created culture focused interview questions for all positions and partner with local groups that focus on hiring diverse candidates.
L.A.D.I.E.S.
Our Leadership And Development In Executing Success (L.A.D.I.E.S.) initiative, which is open to employees of all gender identities, continued with new programming to help employees develop and grow in their careers.
Community Outreach
We also created opportunities for employees to work together to help our community.
Capital Trail
TemperPack has adopted a segment of the Virginia Capital Trail, which employees volunteered to clean and remove litter.
Heart Walk
TemperPack participated in the 2021 Richmond Heart Walk to help fight cardiovascular disease here in the Commonwealth. The Heart Walk is the American Heart Association's premier event for raising funds to save lives from this country's No. 1 and No. 5 killers - heart disease and stroke. Our participation helped raise awareness and donations will help fund lifesaving breakthroughs.
Task Force
TemperPack has a dedicated task force focused on ESG initiatives. This task force includes our Chief Executive Officer and collaborates with our Board of Directors to drive progress on ESG initiatives.
Customer Approval
out of 10 NPS Score
We try to solicit input from stakeholders across our ecosystem. This includes our customers, who received two surveys this year asking for input on what’s important to them and how we can be better. Our average response to the question “how likely are you to recommend TemperPack” was an 8.95 out of 10 across both surveys.
Employee Approval
We also surveyed employees about their experience at TemperPack, including giving the chance for employees to provide anonymous feedback on their manager or on other topics that they would like to raise.
We also conducted stay interviews with employees from varying levels of the organizational hierarchy about their experience at TemperPack. These discussions have initiated several improvements in the safety, training, and communication of our teams.
Strategic Partnerships
Lastly, we have purposefully surrounded ourselves with partners who help us stay informed and provide counsel when needed. In addition to our board, these include:
2022 Goal for Social and Governance Impact ·
Safety
Our first priority remains safety. Our safety goal is a TRIR of Zero.
Materiality
Develop and formalize a materiality assessment to shape our ESG strategy and reporting priorities going forward.
Reporting
Adopt a formal, widely recognized reporting methodology for our 2022 impact report
TemperPack Accelerates Growth with $140 Million in New Funding, Led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management
RICHMOND, Va., March 22, 2022 – TemperPack® Technologies, a leading manufacturer of sustainable thermal insulation for cold chain packaging, announced today that it has closed on $140 million of new equity financing, led by the Sustainable Investing business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs). Goldman Sachs was joined by existing TemperPack investors including Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Harbert Growth Partners, Tao Capital Partners, Revolution Growth, SJF Ventures, and Arborview Capital.
TemperPack has experienced rapid growth in recent years, driven by strong demand for its patented ClimaCell® thermal liners. ClimaCell is the leading sustainable alternative to expanded polystyrene (EPS, Styrofoam®) for the shipment of perishable foods, pharmaceuticals, and other life science products. Unlike EPS, ClimaCell is non-toxic and curbside recyclable. The use of ClimaCell keeps plastic waste out of the environment and reduces carbon emissions.
The new funding led by Goldman Sachs will expand TemperPack’s capacity for protective materials technologies, grow its geographic footprint, and extend its customer reach.
ClimaCell® is the leading sustainable alternative solution to EPS coolers for shipping temperature-sensitive products. TemperPack produces millions of ClimaCell box liners every month out of their facilities in Richmond, Virginia and Las Vegas, Nevada.
" We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Goldman Sachs to accelerate our growth and diversify our offering of innovative, sustainable high-performance protective materials. As TemperPack grows, we increase the beneficial impact for consumers, our customers, and our planet. "
— Bob Beckler, Chairman and CEO
“Goldman Sachs is committed to partnering with outstanding businesses that help drive sustainability. TemperPack has demonstrated an ability to lead in the cold chain materials space with much-needed sustainable solutions. We’re excited to invest in TemperPack’s growth to accelerate the development of technologies that disrupt the use of conventional single-use plastics,” said Jeff Possick, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as the exclusive placement agent for TemperPack in connection with the transaction.
About TemperPack
TemperPack is the largest producer of sustainable cold chain materials for food and life sciences products in the U.S. The company’s mission is simple: protect products with materials that protect the planet. TemperPack was founded in 2015 by James McGoff, Brian Powers, and Charles Vincent to allow enterprises to ship perishable products without unnecessary plastic waste. The company develops and scales innovative solutions that disrupt unsustainable packaging technologies, and its materials protect millions of shipments every month.
About Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market—overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of December 31, 2021. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Follow us on LinkedIn.
TemperPack Appoints Bob Beckler as Chief Executive Officer
TemperPack, the largest producer of sustainable cold chain materials for e-commerce foods and life sciences products in the U.S., today announced the appointment of Bob Beckler as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Beckler, who has served as Executive Chairman of TemperPack since 2017, will be expanding his role as the company accelerates its growth and profitability strategy.
"What an honor it is to be able to join forces with the talented team at TemperPack. It has been so gratifying to see this company emerge as the leader in environmentally beneficial materials for cold chain packaging, and I am excited to help pursue its expansive growth plans. I want to thank the founders James McGoff, Charles Vincent and Brian Powers who continue to drive TemperPack on a remarkable trajectory. I look forward to continue partnering with Brian Powers in his new role as Chief Growth Officer as he leads our commercial and growth initiatives."
— Bob Beckler, Chief Executive Officer
“TemperPack is on a mission to replace plastic with sustainable materials. Bob’s experience, history with TemperPack, and passion for serving customers and the planet, make him the ideal leader for our next phase of growth. I look forward to continue working closely with Bob to keep TemperPack growing rapidly,” said Brian Powers, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer.
Started in 2015, TemperPack has grown sales an average of 65% year over year for the last three years to more than $100mm in annual run rate sales, and continues to grow rapidly. TemperPack serves the market leaders in e-commerce food and life sciences in the U.S. and increasingly on an international basis.
Mr. Beckler has over 30 years of public and private company leadership experience in specialty chemicals, materials, and packaging. Prior to TemperPack, he served as President, Packaging of WestRock (NYSE: WRK) and its predecessor, MeadWestvaco. Mr. Beckler is a member of the Board of Directors of Verso Corporation (NYSE: VRS), has served on the boards of private companies in specialty packaging and chemicals, and also serves on the boards of several community and academic institutions.
About TemperPack
TemperPack® makes packaging that works for businesses, people, and the planet. With over 300 employees across Richmond, Virginia and Las Vegas, Nevada, TemperPack is the largest producer of sustainable cold chain materials for e-commerce foods and life sciences products in the U.S.
TemperPack has raised over $100 million of capital to bring to market its plant-based, recyclable ClimaCell insulation material. For more information, please visit: www.temperpack.com.
2020 Impact Report
2020 impacted all of us.
While the pandemic was the most important story of the past year, we will also remember 2020 as a year of unprecedented growth at TemperPack. As the world ground to a halt, we got to work, designing new products, manufacturing more SKUs than we've ever produced, and servicing the needs of our clients as they worked tirelessly to safely send food and medicine to people in their homes. We are grateful for all of our amazing partners. Below is a snapshot of the impact we made together last year.
2020 - Environment
With great less power, comes great responsibility.
With great less power, comes great responsibility.
We develop products to compete with traditional plastic insulation like expanded polystyrene. We design products with the goal to outperform those materials, but also to use less energy to produce and transport, and to be easily recycled instead of landfilled. This adds up to a better product, both for consumers and the Earth.
58MM+
Pounds of CO2
emissions avoided in 2020.
By choosing ClimaCell instead of EPS, our customers avoided the release of over 58 million pounds of CO2 equivalent emissions into the atmosphere.
97
Olympic swimming pools worth of plastic diverted from landfills in 2020.
By choosing ClimaCell instead of EPS, our customers replaced 97 Olympic swimming pools worth of unrecyclable plastic with material that could be easily recycled.
That all sounds great, but what does 58,753,193 lbs of CO2 actually represent?
1500
Cars
taken off the road for an entire year.
120K
Trees
planted and grown for 10 years.
2.5MM
Cell phones
charged for an entire year.
300K
Light bulbs
changed from incandescent to LED.
compared to similar
performing EPS products.
Water Reduction
Manufacturing is a resource-dependent activity.
Water we doing about it?
Our ClimaCell products reduce water consumption on a unit of output basis by 38% compared to EPS.
2020 - Social
Taking some initiative.
Despite the pandemic, in 2020 we’ve increased the number of environmental and social initiatives at TemperPack to be a more inclusive company and better steward of our own environment. These efforts represent our leadership’s dedication to creating a world that’s better for those living in it.
Expanding Partnerships
Building expertise in environmental issues, especially recycling, is essential to our success. That means working with great partners who lead the industry. This year, TemperPack joined both SWANA and ISRI. We’re participating in ISRI’s working group to draft a new Protocol for the Recycling of Paper Packaging. We also continue to work with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and Closed Loop Partners. We have also engaged with independent paper mills and MRFs to introduce them to ClimaCell.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this update. We’re on a journey to be the best packaging company in the world. We want to create the highest performing, most environmentally friendly products, in a place where people like to work, can be themselves, and do the best work of their careers. We’re not there yet. While we work to get there, we want to hold ourselves to high standards and be as transparent as we can be.
Shoot for the moon and land there.
Thermal Testing Standards for Cold Chain Shipments: A Primer
For the vast majority of life-saving drugs, therapies, and vaccines, efficacy is inextricably tied to temperature stability.
The most common acceptable temperature range for cold chain pharmaceuticals is between 2°C and 8°C. Ensuring temperature stability across thousands of shipments as they move throughout dozens of distribution points requires precise, reliable testing.
The following is a look into how that testing is performed.
Thermal Shipping Regulation: Who’s Who
Effective transport of temperature sensitive products through the small parcel distribution network depends on guidance provided by multiple industry organizations.
The primary organization that provides guidance on the proper qualification of Insulated Shipping Containers (ISC) used for the distribution of temperature sensitive products is the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA).
The International Safe Transit Association, is an industry organization that provides standardized testing methods to members and provides lab certifications for both physical and thermal testing of packaged products.
The American Society for Testing Materials, is another organization with test standards that are used in the lSTA. While we focus more on ITSA in this article, ASTM covers a wide range of test standards and its test methods can be used for shipments destined for either domestic or international transit.
The Food and Drug Administration is the governing body that sets regulations for the proper certification of ISCs for drug manufacturers and distributors.
The Utilization Review Accreditation Commission, described as a “nonprofit accreditation entity”, oversees the validation process and requirements of ISCs used by specialty pharmacies in its 4.0 recommendations.
ISC
ISC is a packaging system as shipped. It typically includes an outer box, thermal insulation, coolant of some kind, and a temperature sensitive payload.
The Guidebook for Thermal Testing:
ISTA Standard 20
Due to a lack of standardization in the verification process of ISCs, ISTA established the ISTA Standard 20 (STD-0020), a testing process that outlines the process of design, testing, and verification of an ISC.
Proper execution of the Standard 20 process will certify that an ISC performs to the specified user requirements in a manner that meets FDA regulations. The Standard 20 process relies on three stages of testing to fully qualify an ISC.
STAGE 1: DQ
The initial stage is the Design Qualification (DQ), which is done either through environmental chamber testing or thermal simulation and only requires a sample size of one.
STAGE 2: OQ
After an ISC passes DQ, the Operational Qualification (OQ) is completed. OQ testing requires a minimum sample size of three and requires thermal chamber data as well as distribution testing.
STAGE 3: PQ
Following the completion of the OQ testing, the ISC is subjected to a Performance Qualification (PQ). The PQ is performed through real world shipments and requires a sample size of three shipments in the most extreme temperatures the intended season.
Standard 20 outlines the proper data collection process for each qualification step, as well as what to include in the final documentation for a fully qualified ISC.
Recreating Real Life in a Thermal Chamber: ISTA 7E
Along with extensive guidance and requirements for the testing process, data collection, and documentation, Standard 20 also references the ISTA 7E thermal profiles for use in chamber testing. The ISTA 7E thermal profiles were developed through industry input to provide standardized methodology for the comparison of ISCs.
They include a standardized summer and winter profile that were built using an aggregation of data collected through an extensive study of shipping lanes spanning the United States. Each 7E profile contains up to 72 hours of data, which is repeatable for up to a total duration of 144 hours.
7E vs 7D
While the seasonal 7E profiles can be used to demonstrate performance for general domestic shipments, it may not reach the temperature extremes observed across specific regions. This is the reasoning for the PQ step in the Standard 20 process, but for many users a custom profile built using specific lane data may be more representative during chamber testing. Some end users address this discrepancy in temperature extremes by requiring ISTA 7D as the baseline for initial testing, with the intention of validating later down the road using real temperature data collected across specific temperature lanes to perform an OQ and following it up with a PQ.
A simple examination of 7E vs 7D will show the contrast between the two profiles. ISTA 7D was developed prior to 7E. It contains immediate temperature changes in the profile followed by hold/soak steps at a constant temperature, similar to what would be experienced when going from inside a warehouse to outside and vice versa. ISTA 7E was developed using an intensive data collection process, and generally represents the gradual temperature changes that can be experienced throughout the day.
Shake it Won’t Break It: ISTA 3A
The ISTA Standard 20 process also requires the ISTA 3A test, which is described as a “general simulation test for individual packaged-products shipped through a parcel delivery system”. The ISTA 3A involves a series of drops, dynamic compression sequences, and a loose load vibration portion that are meant to replicate the different forces that can be experienced by an ISC or other single shipment when sent through a service like UPS or FedEx.
Specialty Pharmacy:
When drug manufacturers and distributors make a submission to the FDA, both OQ and PQ documentation for an ISC are required to receive approval. However, specialty pharmacies that are subjected to URAC 4.0 requirements are only required to submit PQ data.
While not required by URAC, DQ and OQ testing is recommended to reduce the risk of failure during the PQ phase of the package development process.
Here to Help
When food or medicine requires temperature control distribution, the design and qualification of insulated shipping containers is an essential of new product development.
Through the ISTA Certified Thermal Lab at TemperPack, our team of engineers is able to carry out a standard or modified version of the ISTA Standard 20 process.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Upstream Innovation Guide Features ClimaCell®
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has published its Upstream Innovation Guide. We’re thrilled that ClimaCell is included as a solution to replace plastic foam as a way to protect fresh food and other perishable shipments.
The circular economy is about changing the way we design and make products and packaging, so we can move from managing waste, to preventing it – benefiting businesses, their customers and the environment.
Plant-based insulation for perishable shipments, with comparable temperature control performance to expanded polystyrene foam (EPS), as well as being made from a renewable material and fully compatible with paper recycling streams.
Businesses around the world are starting to do this, but it is time to move at even greater speed and scale. We’re honored that ClimaCell was selected for the Upstream Innovation Guide, alongside incredible innovations from around the world. The guide is a valuable resource that includes new technologies and practical improvements companies are making to bring about a better future.
We’re honored that ClimaCell was chosen, alongside incredible innovations from around the world. The guide is a valuable resource that includes new technologies and practical improvements companies are making to bring about a better future.
A link to the guide can be found here.
About TemperPack
TemperPack® makes packaging that works for businesses, people, and the planet. The company was borne out of a desire to reduce the amount of unsustainable packaging caused by the rise of e-commerce and perishable delivery. Incorporating environmental responsibility into product design, the company specializes in bringing the highest quality packaging solutions to scale. Operating an ISTA® certified Thermal Transport Lab and state-of-the-art production facilities in Richmond, VA and Las Vegas, NV, TemperPack is rapidly expanding its reach in the perishable food and life sciences industries with recyclable and compostable packaging solutions. Our mission is simple: protect products with packaging that protects the planet.
About the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK-based charity, committed to the creation of a circular economy that tackles some of the biggest challenges of our time, such waste, pollution and climate change. In a circular economy nothing becomes waste and everything has value, creating benefits for society, the environment and theeconomy.
The Foundation collaborates with its Strategic Partners (BlackRock, Danone, DS Smith, Google, H&M Group, Intesa Sanpaolo, IKEA, Philips, Renault, SC Johnson, Solvay, Unilever, The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, SUN, MAVA, players of People’s Postcode Lottery (GB)) and its wider network of businesses; governments, institutions, and cities; universities; and emerging innovators, to drive collaboration, explore opportunities, and to develop circular business initiatives.
The current ‘take, make, waste’ extractive industrial model relies on the consumption of finite resources. The circular economy offers a positive way forward by redefining growth to focus on society-wide benefits. It entails redesigning material flows and production systems to build economic, natural and social capital. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular economy is built on three principles: design out waste and pollution; keep products and materials in use; and regenerate natural capital.
