Sustainable Functional Labels for the Pharmaceutical Industry: Innovative and Individual

For its sustainable label solutions, Schreiner MediPharm relies on three pillars: label materials made of recycled and renewable raw materials, sorted recycling/disassembling, and reduction of CO₂ emissions. The newly developed label concepts based on existing functional labels include, for instance, a Pharma-Tac label for infusion bottles with an integrated hanger plus removable documentation labels—and an Autoinjector-Label for injection systems that is equipped with an anti-slip feature. For both product solutions, film materials that have either been recycled or produced from renewable raw materials are used for the environmentally friendly versions.  

Extensive tests by the in-house R+D department regarding hangers, adhesion, ink adhesion, print durability, and laser marking have demonstrated that the new materials used deliver equally reliable performance as the previous ones. Consequently, they enable smooth processing in pharmaceutical production and reliable functionality in final use.  

The Product Carbon Footprint (PFC) was calculated for the two sustainable label
concepts as well. This calculation considers the CO₂ emissions of a product from raw
materials through manufacturing to delivery (“cradle-to-gate”) as well as the impact of end-of-life scenarios (“cradle-to-grave”).

Based on the findings gained, and using the materials that have been qualified accordingly, Schreiner MediPharm is able to design and develop customized solutions that are sustainable (“Integrated Sustainability”), are focused on the product lifecycle (“cradle-to-cradle”), and actively support a sustainable supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry.