Author: Shivani Polasani, Product Development Manager, Corning Pharmaceutical Technologies

For over a century, Corning has been synonymous with groundbreaking innovations, and our commitment to sustainability is no different. Within Corning Pharmaceutical Technologies, our drive to create more environmentally friendly products is guided by three overarching themes: climate, design, and stewardship.

In-line with climate science, and aligning with the goals of the Paris Agreement, Corning set ambitious climate targets for our operations, our products, and our supply chains. They include a 30% reduction in our absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2028 from a 2021 base year, and a 17.5% absolute reduction in our Scope 3 emissions, covering purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel- and energy-related activities, and upstream transportation and distribution by 2028 from a 2021 base year.

Specifically, Corning Life Sciences has aligned its Scope 1,2, and 3 targets with the Science Based Targets Initiative or SBTi, which is a partnership between CDP (the Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

With sustainability as a fundamental aspect of our product and process innovation framework, we are constantly exploring how we can use our expertise in materials science to challenge conventional thought and create innovative solutions. This has led to our latest breakthrough in pharmaceutical packaging – Corning^® Viridian^™ Vials.

Viridian Vials, made with externally coated Type I borosilicate glass, can reduce vial manufacturing emissions up to 30% and glass material waste by 20%, while enabling faster fill-finish operations. As a drop-in solution, Viridian Vials can improve quality and boost filling line productivity – helping our customers increase production in a more environmentally friendly package.​

As the pharmaceutical industry sets aggressive carbon reduction and material waste goals, Corning, along with many other leading primary glass packaging providers, has adjusted our manufacturing operations to lower emissions. But we wanted to take it a step further.

We know that the design phase of product Development dictates about 80% of that product's ecological footprint¹. Taking this into consideration, we carefully studied a conventional vial’s product lifespan, its materials, and how it’s disposed of at end-of-life.

We saw an unmet opportunity in the market to reduce emissions even further and lower the amount of glass waste sent to landfill at the end of a vial's life cycle. Our solution was a reimagined vial design that reduces the overall glass material by 20% by reducing the wall thickness by 30%. This design change, combined with the use of 100% renewable electricity² in the manufacturing process, not only reduces the vial's weight but also lowers cradle to gate lifecycle emissions by up to 30% compared to a conventional glass vial.

When we consider product design, material innovation and sustainability are engrained in our process from the beginning. How can we use our expertise in glass science to provide solutions to our customers' most pressing challenges while ensuring seamless adoption?

Our design philosophy centers on three main pillars: Form, Fit, and Function. To ensure frictionless integration, Viridian Vials were designed to conform to international standards. The external dimensions of Viridian Vials are consistent with ISO standards and meet <USP 660> requirements for surface glass, glass grains, and surface etch. The vials are compatible with existing filling lines and container closure systems and critical quality dimensions are unchanged. Container closure integrity was demonstrated at room temperature and -80° C with standard stoppers and caps. The vials are also compatible for cold storage conditions, with Viridian Vials showing improved mechanical reliability over conventional vials at -40°C during internal testing.

At the heart of Viridian Vials' innovation is Corning’s patented external coating technology. It's this unique layer that truly sets Viridian Vials apart. Enabling a remarkable reduction in wall thickness without compromising strength, Corning’s external vial coating acts as a performance accelerant, driving higher fill-finish speeds and throughput by protecting the underlying glass.

A "Cradle to Gate" Life Cycle Assessment, or LCA, is a method of evaluating the environmental impacts of a product, process, or system from the extraction of raw materials (the "cradle") up to the point of delivery to the customer (the "gate"). It does not include the distribution, use, or disposal stages of the product's life cycle.

Corning partnered with Sphera, a leader in environmental performance and risk management software, data, and consulting services, to conduct an LCA in association with Viridian Vials. Collecting primary data from our production sites and detailed material information, we quantified the cradle-to-gate impact of Viridian Vials.

Using less glass material per vial creates a waterfall effect for emission reduction: less energy to extract raw material, reduced transportation emissions, more efficient use of secondary packaging materials, and reduced energy in the conversion process. For Corning’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the use of renewable electricity¹, the fundamental design of the vial, and Corning’s manufacturing expertise (in both tube forming and converting) leads to lower emissions compared to conventional vial manufacturing. 

Scope 3 emissions are a comprehensive category of emissions that encompass both the upstream and downstream activities associated with an organization's value chain. They are the emissions that occur outside of an organization's direct control or ownership (such as suppliers) but are a result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting company. These emissions are often the most significant part of an organization's carbon footprint but can be the most difficult to quantify and manage²

Viridian Vials can reduce our customers' Scope 3 emissions related to glass vials by up to 30%. There are four key drivers behind this decrease in CO₂e emissions:

1. Raw Materials: Less glass per vial means fewer raw materials are needed in the tube forming process, leading to a reduction in the emissions created to extract and deliver the materials to Corning.

Although not related to Scope 3 emissions, but equally important, the material reduction made possible by Viridian Vials has a number of additional positive impacts on the environment:

• Reduced use of nature resources –Finding innovative ways to reduce raw material extraction not only lowers greenhouse gas emissions, but also ensures a more sustainable and responsible use of our planet’s natural resources. In “Sand and Sustainability: 10 Strategic Recommendations to Avert a Crisis”, the UN states that, “the world cannot continue to keep taking 50 billion tons of sand out of the ground and sea every year without serious consequences.” Pascal Peduzzi, Director of GRID-Geneva at UNEP said, “Our sand resources are not infinite, and we need to use them wisely. To achieve sustainable development, we need to drastically change the way we produce, build, and consume products, infrastructures, and service.” We see Viridian Vials as an incremental step to help achieve the UN goal of conserving our natural resources.
  
• Less waste-to-landfill at end of life – Corning estimates that the industry uses roughly 150,00 tons (or 136 million kg) of Type 1 glass to make pharmaceutical glass vials annually. The complex and regionally disjointed regulation associated with pharmaceutical vial recycling leads to most vials being sent to landfill at end-of-life. By reducing glass material by 20%, we could potentially stop nearly 30,000 tons (>27 million kg) of glass from entering the waste stream each year.
  
  These numbers only account for a sub-category of one primary packaging (Type I vials). Corning’s reduced material technology can be translated to multiple packaging types, enabling massive material reductions across the industry.

2. Transportation: Less material per vial also reduces the vial’s weight, reducing CO₂e emissions related to transportation and potentially reducing shipping costs.

3. Manufacturing: The use of renewable energy, the fundamental design of the vial, and Corning’s manufacturing expertise leads to lower emissions compared to industry averages.

4. Packaging: Lower weight enables more efficient use of packaging materials.

To put this into perspective, a 30% decrease in emissions equates to about 480 metric tons of CO₂e emissions, considering around 40M vials. This is equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions generated by 107 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year, or over 1,230,500 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle in a year⁴.

To ensure the vials' effectiveness in real-world conditions, Corning collaborated with Optima Pharma to simulate a filling line trial. The trial tested for vial tip-overs, jams, and breakage propensity.

All vials were washed and depyrogenated for 10 minutes at 325°C offline using commercial washers and depyrogenation tunnels. They were then manually fed into a turntable, passed through multiple singulation and starwheel transfers, and conveyed back to the turntable to repeat the cycle.

In the trial, Corning Viridian Vials demonstrated a nealy 6X reduction in tip over frequency compared to conventional uncoated vials. In addition, there were no issues observed with vial handling or breakage and no unique format parts were required for handling.

The trial results are a positive demonstration of the vial’s ability to deliver the same, or better filling line performance as conventional vials.

Corning^® Viridian^™ Vials encapsulate a comprehensive approach to sustainability, from design to production to implementation, and marks a significant stride towards a more sustainable future. Our goal was to balance innovation and practicality, maintaining form, fit, and function to provide the industry with a tangible solution that can be adopted widely without compromising product performance.

Collaboration with partners such as Optima Pharma and West Pharmaceutical (container closure integrity testing) underlines our dedication to ensuring the reliability and efficiency of Viridian Vials. This helps ensure that transitioning to this innovative product is not only a viable option for pharmaceutical manufacturers but a strategically smart and environmentally conscious decision.

These vials go beyond just reducing carbon emissions and material waste; they symbolize a paradigm shift in the way the pharmaceutical industry considers primary packaging. The 30% reduction in cradle-to-gate lifecycle emissions and the 20% reduction in overall glass material are remarkable achievements in themselves. Still, the implications are more profound as they indicate a pathway for the entire industry towards more responsible production and consumption.

Click here to learn more about Viridian Vials.

Click here to learn more about Corning Pharmaceutical Technologies’ commitment to sustainability.

References:

1. “An introduction to circular design.” Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 6 June 2022, https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/an-introduction-to-circular-design#:~:text=Decisions%20made%20at%20the%20design,made%20at%20the%20design%20stage.
2. Electricity consumption covered through a combination of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) associated with on-site solar and unbundled market RECs.
3. “Scope 3 Inventory Guidance.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-3-inventory-guidance
4. Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator

West Pharmaceutical is the exclusive distributor of Corning^® Viridian^™ Vials.