Dive Brief:
- Closed Loop Partners will provide a $10 million loan to TemperPack, a Virginia-based cold-chain packaging solutions company focused on plant-based alternatives to plastic foam.
- TemperPack will use the financing to support research and development, manufacturing and distribution of easier-to-recycle fiber-based products, which help to reduce reliance on harder-to-recycle plastics such as expanded polystyrene. The company also offers manufacturing equipment.
- This is the third loan CLP has provided TemperPack since 2018, via its Closed Loop Partners Catalytic Capital & Private Credit group.
Dive Insight:
TemperPack has “demonstrated strong growth and financial stability” over the last several years and has near-term plans for innovation and to explore different business models that require outside capital. This made the company well-positioned for a follow-on loan, according to Closed Loop.
The group believes TemperPack will benefit from the funding infusion as the decade-old company explores different business models and new product development amid a broader trend of packaging companies transitioning toward fiber-based packaging.
"Closed Loop Partners' experience in material circularity, and extensive network of partners, has made them a key partner for our company's growth. With this loan, we look to further scale our capacity and impact, helping reduce waste across major industries –– including life sciences, food & beverage, electronics and home goods –– while catalyzing the development of new circular products," said TemperPack CEO Peter Wells, in a statement.
Closed Loop notes that although the use of certain plastics like EPS as a packaging material has declined, it’s still used. Leading industries that use the foam packaging include healthcare, food and beverage as well as other cold-chain shipping applications. There is limited infrastructure in the United States to recycle EPS, so it tends to end up in landfills or incinerators, according to CLP, but TemperPack’s alternatives help.
TemperPack’s WaveKraft fiber-based packaging helped customers displace an estimated 716,000 cubic feet of plastic compared to conventional insulation use, according to its 2024 sustainability report. TemperPack’s products also have helped customers divert 14,646 metric tons of single-use plastic packaging from landfills, according to the report.
In addition to producing packaging considered more sustainable, TemperPack also has worked to reduce the environmental footprint of its own operations. It implemented new technology in its manufacturing operations for its Green Cell Foam product. The equipment allows for the incorporation of collected foam scrap back into the extrusion process, thus reducing overall foam scrap waste by 5% to 10%, according to the company’s report.
TemperPack set 2022 as its baseline year for emissions metrics. For scope 1 emissions, it charted a total of 529 mt of CO2 equivalent in 2024, down 24.8% from 703 mt CO2e in 2022. For scope 2 emissions, it reports 4,541 mt CO2e in 2024, up 35.4% from 3,353 in 2022.
CLP manages both an investment arm and a grant-making program. Yesterday the Composting Consortium, managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, announced it would provide eight grants to composting projects, four of which aim to enhance processing capabilities for composters accepting compostable packaging.
