UK‐based materials company,
Xampla, recently announced a £14 million funding round to accelerate plant-protein-based packaging alternatives. While such innovation often starts in consumer goods, it’s now reverberating through pharmaceutical manufacturing, where packaging material innovation and automation must go hand in hand to meet sustainability targets without compromising on compliance or performance, explains Beth Ragdale, software business manager at
Beckhoff Automation UK.
When companies talk about sustainable packaging, the first thought is often what material can we exchange for something greener. Take
LOG Pharma Primary Packaging’s “Barrier Eco Line” as a strong case in point. By partnering with Dow and its HEALTH+ resins, LOG achieved a bottle that is up to 30% lighter than conventional HDPE bottles, while still providing the barrier performance required to protect moisture- or oxygen-sensitive formulations. From the barrier performance perspective, LOG also states its lighter bottle delivers twice the moisture barrier of standard HDPE.
Some firms are exploring wood, bamboo, fungi-derived or fiber-based materials for secondary or tertiary packaging. Think cardboard super-structures or mold-formed inserts, for example, because they reduce fossil-based plastic and make recycling easier. In one case study, switching to a lighter board instead of a heavier coated recycled option cut packaging carbon footprint by 50%.
Pharmaceutical packaging is under mounting pressure from regulators, brand reputation concerns and consumer demand to cut its environmental footprint. The sector is already moving away from single-use materials, but much of this work is being framed as testing, trials and pilots as companies evaluate reusable and renewable alternatives before widescale deployment. Part of the reason adoption is cautious is the technical complexity of pharmaceutical packaging. The multi-layer constructions, tight barrier and sterility requirements, and stringent stability and regulatory validation mean material changes require extensive testing.
One of the less visible but critically important areas is how these new packaging formats are manufactured and how production lines adapt to them, while simultaneously driving down resource consumption. Automation offers a lever here. Manufacturing lines are among the biggest consumers of energy, HVAC, cleanroom operation and material waste in a pharmaceutical plant. According to a report by
Mitsubishi Electric Europe, the pharmaceutical sector produces 55% more greenhouse gases than automotive. Yet automation and digitalisation are already showing what’s possible.
Through Pharma 4.0 strategies in packaging, material handling and process control, companies are achieving higher yield, less waste and leaner operations.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), for instance, has embraced advanced robotics and automation in its facilities, where collaborative robots now work alongside human operators to package finished dosage forms. The result? GSK reports higher throughput, consistent quality and fewer repetitive strain injuries. The same integrated sensor networks also enable predictive maintenance, reducing unplanned downtime and energy waste. These gains extend beyond packaging lines. In one biopharma facility, adding wireless sensors to steam traps cut 230 metric tons of CO₂ and saved around US $34,000 annually, all by targeting a single asset type.
When we talk about packaging sustainability, we often picture the plastic bottle, the carton or the blister pack, but the manufacturing side is equally vital. Savings in energy, material waste, factory footprint and logistics all compound. Furthermore, those operational savings free up capital to invest in material innovation. When packaging materials are redesigned, say moving to a lighter barrier bottle, the production line must adapt too. A lighter container can alter fill dynamics, conveyor speeds, sealing parameters, changeover routines and quality-inspection criteria.
This is where flexible, software-controlled automation becomes essential. Consider a pharma brand adopting LOG’s barrier eco bottle, which is 30% lighter. Shipping weight falls, logistics emissions shrink, but unless the line is optimised for the new material, problems can arise. Longer changeovers, higher reject rates, extended cleaning cycles, creeping energy use are all potential problems. By deploying Beckhoff’s XTS system, a flexible, software-controlled linear transport system that improves how products move through production lines, production lines can adapt quickly.
By controlling product movement with precision, the XTS enables faster changeovers, synchronised motion, reduced energy use and smaller machine footprints. These benefits translate directly into more sustainable and efficient operations. A practical example of this approach can be seen in pharmaceutical packaging specialist Uhlmann Pac-Systeme, which integrated Beckhoff’s XTS linear transport system into its Cartoner C 2155 for bottle packaging. By replacing a conventional intermittent belt-driven transport system with independently controlled movers, the company increased machine output by 25% while also reducing reject rates and improving overall line efficiency.
The ability to precisely control each product’s position allowed bottles to be synchronised more accurately with downstream processes, reducing unnecessary waste and enabling smoother handling of varying packaging formats. In addition to performance gains, the system’s clean, accessible design and reduced reliance on mechanical components supported faster line clearance and easier cleaning, both essential in GMP-regulated pharmaceutical environments. Put simply, automation ensures that the material innovation doesn’t introduce hidden inefficiencies. Material innovation alone isn’t enough.
The industry’s push towards lighter, recyclable and bio-based packaging, like LOG Pharma’s eco line or Xampla’s plant-based alternatives, is only truly effective when production keeps pace. By aligning materials innovation with advanced automation, the pharmaceutical sector can complete the circle of sustainable design and sustainable production. With software-controlled systems, manufacturers can adapt faster to new materials, minimise waste and energy use while maintaining the precision, safety and compliance that are essential to the industry.