Cryoport Launches Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Program

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cryoport, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYRX) ("Cryoport" or the "Company"), a global leader in temperature-controlled supply chain solutions for the life sciences industry, today announced the launch of its Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) initiative – formalizing its long-standing commitment to taking positive action on global environmental, social, health and corporate stewardship issues.

Jerrell Shelton, CEO of Cryoport, stated, "We have always been a 'green company', but as we entered 2021, we were aware of the expectations that our stakeholders have of us as a global company of significant size to disclose more about the work we do in the framework of a more formal ESG program and to expand our initiatives. It is our responsibility to adapt and adjust to these requirements accordingly as interest on the part of investors, and our other stakeholders, in environmental, social and governance ("ESG") matters has surged recently, and the current economic, public health and social justice crises have only intensified this movement. Our ESG initiative, at its core, is a means by which we can drive change and be evaluated by our stakeholders with respect to our contributions to a broad range of socially desirable goals.

"The launch of our ESG program marks our first disclosure of ESG information based on the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which are leading global sustainability frameworks. As a company focused on delivering lifesaving therapies by providing reliable and comprehensive temperature-controlled supply chain solutions for the life sciences industry, sustainability has always been integral to our work; however, this year we began a formalized evaluation of our company's ESG initiatives and we have elevated sustainability to be one of our key priorities for guiding our operating philosophy and corporate governance as we move forward."

Environmental
As Cryoport continues to grow its business in a way that is considerate of our global community, we are committed to protecting our planet by using our world's resources sensibly and minimizing our emissions and waste on a global basis. From an environmental standpoint, we have always contributed to sustainability efforts by employing multi-use and recyclable packaging, powering our cryogenic shippers by using the non-hazardous dry vapor form of liquid nitrogen and using proprietary informatics to drive efficiencies in the use of resources throughout our company. But, there is much more to do. To aid in our environmental efforts, we have recently developed an operating system to collect data on a global scale for the purpose of quantifying the impact of all our environmental initiatives so that we may demonstrate our performance on this important matter to shareholders.

Positive Environmental Impacts
Examples of our positive environmental impacts include the fact that our annual freezer production reduces annual energy consumption by 115,508,192 kWh from what it would otherwise be from alternative products. This amount of energy saved would power 10,847 homes (sized at 2,500 square feet) annually. This reduction in energy consumption from our freezer lines alone equates to 109,547,623 pounds of GHG emissions avoided or the emissions equivalent to 17,644 passenger vehicles driven for a year.

In another case, one of our facilities uses carbonless energy consumption, which prevented the emission of 3,487,702 pounds of GHGs in 2020.  These prevented emissions are equal to 544 passenger vehicles driven for one year.

Recently, our Paris, France operations moved into a new facility, which is designed with the highest French environmental standards and equipped with solar panels to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Social
Cryoport's social efforts are focused on our global team of employees and communities. Our employees are our most valuable resource, from our teams on the front line in our global supply chain and logistics centers, to our manufacturing operations, to our business development personnel, to the engineers who design our products and services, to our quality assurance and regulatory teams that assure the safety, quality, compliance, and integrity of our products. Across our Company, we are committed to inclusion, equity and diverse representation in our employees. Cryoport's Employee Health & Safety (EHS) programs have resulted in strong safety performance, as demonstrated by our total injury rate (TIR) and lost time injury rate (LTIR) being significantly lower than the global industry averages. Facilitated by our culture of continuous improvement, we are committed to continue to work toward reducing our TIR and LTIR numbers even further.

As stakeholders, constructive supplier relationships are essential to our ability to meet customer requirements for quality solutions, and also for influencing our suppliers to engage in responsible and ethical conduct. We expect our business partners to share our commitment to ethics, integrity, compliance, safety, human rights and environmental protection. By the same token, as a provider accountable to thousands of companies worldwide, we pledge, through our ESG performance, to meet or exceed our clients' requirements for the same.

Positive Social Impacts
Our temperature-controlled supply chain solutions include logistics, which can boast a 99.8% delivery success rate and due to this performance 9,586 additional patients were able to receive therapies over the past 24 months and 690 intended parents are potentially able to have successful cycles resulting in the birth of a child on an annual basis because of our CryoStork^® solution.

Governance
Our corporate governance supports and sustains all that we do at Cryoport. Our core values of "passion, integrity, teamwork, and value creation" have helped us build our reputation as a leading temperature-controlled supply chain solutions provider for the life sciences and have made Cryoport an attractive place to work as evidenced by our employee retention. Leadership of our ESG program starts with our Board of Directors, the Nominating and Governance Committee, our Chief Executive Officer, and our senior leadership team.

Mr. Shelton stated, "I would like to thank the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors for its input in creating Cryoport's ESG program and providing oversight of our global ESG initiatives and goals. As a global leader in providing temperature-controlled supply chain solutions to the life sciences industry we take our role in implementing a solid ESG program seriously and will strive to constructively influence our partners, clients, vendors and other stakeholders to contribute to these important global efforts as well. In the next few days, we will be posting additional and more detailed information about our ESG program on our website.

"At Cryoport, we are serious about redefining the standards by which the temperature-controlled supply chain for the life sciences industry is governed and we will continually broaden our platform of solutions, products and services, serving our markets while elevating these standards."

About Cryoport, Inc.

Cryoport, Inc. (Nasdaq: CYRX) is redefining temperature-controlled supply chain support for the life sciences industry by continually broadening its platform of solutions and services, serving the Biopharma, Reproductive Medicine, and Animal Health markets. Through its family of companies, Cryoport Systems, MVE Biological Solutions, CRYOPDP and CRYOGENE, Cryoport provides strategic solutions that support the growing needs of these markets.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release which are not purely historical, including statements regarding the Company's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with the effect of changing economic conditions, trends in the products markets, variations in the Company's cash flow, market acceptance risks, and technical development risks. The Company's business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors discussed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") reports including, but not limited to, the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 and any subsequent filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and the Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation, and does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release.

SOURCE Cryoport, Inc.

Related Links

www.cryoport.com