Save CO2 with new solution for shipping adhesives

Due to the required cooling capacity, frozen adhesives are to a large extent transported in Styrofoam boxes filled with dry ice.

In order to reduce its global carbon footprint, DELO has increasingly been using so-called Cocoons units from the logistics service provider World Courier for intercontinental transports since 2018. These are special shipping containers that can be used for years and are made of a fibre glass composite and vacuum panels, among other materials.

Thanks to their high-performance insulation, a significantly lower cooling capacity is sufficient compared to Styrofoam boxes, which is why reusable cold packs are used instead of dry ice. In addition, the elimination of the hazardous material dry ice – frozen carbon dioxide – makes transport easier and improves occupational safety for all employees along the transport chain.

Thanks to this new logistics solution, DELO has saved more than 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide on its 429 shipments since 2018. This corresponds to the CO2 emissions of 1,250 cars with an annual mileage of 15,000 km. Another advantage of the insulated container solution is less packaging material, almost 6,000 Styrofoam boxes were saved.

“Since our adhesives are used in homeopathic quantities, and given their energy-saving production, we are certainly only a minor CO2 polluter compared with the rest of the industry. Nevertheless, as part of our environmental management, we are always looking at where we can improve processes such as here in the logistics area,” explained Sabine Herold, Managing Partner of DELO.

Most of DELO's high-tech adhesives are used in automotive and consumer electronics. In many cases, all that is needed is a small drop of adhesive. For example, one liter of adhesive is sufficient for 40 million RFID radio tags.