Core Bio Sustainable Cold Chain
In partnership with Core Bio Services, Thermo Fisher Scientific offers an eco-friendly packaging and shipping solution for designated cold storage products that are in high demand within the campus research community.
Shop Cold with Core!
Order select Thermo Fisher Scientific cold storage products through Core Bio Services to have them shipped using our sustainable cold chain system. An innovative, cleaner, and more sustainable way to get the cold storage products you rely on.
How to Participate
- Shop online via the Core Bio website, or via the Core Bio punchout or Advanced Search in Oracle, and add any of the designated top cold storage products to your cart.
- Your item will be delivered (without the unnecessary EPS packaging!) by one of Core Bio’s team members.
- Put the item directly in your freezer to keep it at the correct temperature.
- Know you are making a direct impact on keeping our supply chain more sustainable!
How It Works
- Cold chain orders are shipped from Thermo Fisher Scientific's Carlsbad warehouse using a temperature-controlled, reusable cold chain delivery system.
- UC San Diego receives and stores the order in a temperature-controlled refrigerator or freezer at Core Bio and returns the cold chain system to Thermo Fisher Scientific for reconditioning and reuse.
- UC San Diego's Core Bio team prepares the order and delivers it to end-users in our labs in a validated, reusable cooler bag with reusable gel packs.
- Upon receipt, the lab immediately stores the order in a temperature-controlled refrigerator or freezer.
Benefits
UC San Diego receives more than 6,000 cold storage shipments a year. Shipping temperature-sensitive products is critical to scientific research, but also represents one of our significant environmental impacts. Typically, cold storage items are shipped in single-use expanded polystyrene (EPS) coolers, which are not readily recyclable and usually end up in landfills.
Thermo Fisher Scientific's collaboration with Core Bio Services offers UC San Diego a sustainable shipping solution for in-demand cold storage products that offer these benefits:
- Decrease the amount of EPS and other shipping material waste shipped to campus from Thermo Fisher Scientific's Carlsbad warehouse.
- Reusable shipping containers reduce the supply chain's greenhouse gas emissions footprint.
- Help UC San Diego and Thermo Fisher Scientific meet their respective goals to reduce waste.
Email the project team at ucsdpartnership@thermofisher.com and mention 'Cold-Chain Packaging Program' in the subject line.
Program Status
This initiative is the result of a successful 6-month pilot, during which select labs tested a returnable, temperature-controlled shipping system for products ranging from -20°C to +4°C. The results were clear:
- Diverted significant packaging waste (EPS, paper coolers, gel packs) from landfills
- Improved cost-efficiency and environmental sustainability
- Enhanced delivery performance for temperature-sensitive products
Join the Core Bio email list and stay tuned for more program updates and progress reports.
Glossary
Cold chain - An industry standard term describing a supply chain that uses refrigeration to maintain perishable goods, such as pharmaceuticals, produce, or other goods that are temperature-sensitive. A well-functioning cold chain requires an uninterrupted sequence of refrigerated production, storage, and distribution activities, along with associated equipment and logistics, which maintain a desired low-temperature interval to keep the safety and quality of perishable or sensitive products.