Our approach
As a world-leading food processing and packaging solutions company, we work with customers and suppliers to provide safe, innovative and environmentally sound food processing and packaging that meet the daily needs of hundreds of millions of people in more than 160 countries. Responsible industry leadership and a sustainable approach to business are at the core of our company. We take a value chain approach, continually improve environmental performance and
report regularly on our performance.
Our approach to sustainability is focused on three pillars and reflects our purpose as a company – we commit to making food safe and available, everywhere. And we promise to protect what’s good: protecting food, people and the planet.
Food
We are committed to help shape a future with secure and sustainable food systems.
People
We strive to create a work environment that is safe, inclusive and fair, and aim to bring about positive social impact along our value chain.
Planet
We develop and offer sustainable and innovative food processing and packaging solutions that help protect our planet’s climate, resources and biodiversity.
We are on a journey to develop the world’s most sustainable food package – a carton made solely from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials, fully recyclable and carbon-neutral – and we work to enable secure and sustainable food systems.
Net zero journey
Our 2020 value chain GHG emissions were 19 per cent lower than our baseline in 2010, demonstrating that decoupling climate impact and economic growth is possible. We outperformed our 2020 climate goal – to cap our 2020 impact across the value chain at 2010 levels, while expanding the business. As part of this overall decrease, we have reduced our operational footprint by 70 per cent since 2010. In addition, we have committed to achieving net zero GHG emissions in our operations by 2030 and have set a net zero ambition across the value chain by 2050. Our revised
SBTi11)-approved target across all scopes 1, 2 & 312) means – amongst other things – reaching 46 per cent GHG reduction across the value chain by 2030, in line with a 1.5°C pathway.
Our leadership in corporate sustainability has been recognised by the global environmental non-profit CDP13). In 2021, Tetra Pak secured a place on CDP's prestigious ‘A List’ for the third year running for climate and forestry – two of the three environmental themes covered by CDP. With this accolade, Tetra Pak cements its position as the only company in the carton packaging sector to be included in the CDP leadership band for six years in a row.
Recycling and circularity – our collaborative approach across the value chain
Together with our partners, we continue to drive recycling and circularity across the recycling value chain in markets around the world. One example is our new partnership with Stora Enso in Poland in 2021 with a total co-investment of €29.1 million for a carton repulping line that will triple the annual recycling capacity of used beverage cartons from 25,000 to 75,000 tonnes in that region. This increased capacity will not only be able to recycle all the cartons used in Poland, but also the neighbouring countries of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Additional recycling investments in markets such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Australia will enable global carton packaging recycling to exceed fifty billion cartons per year.
Introducing attributed recycled polymers
Tetra Pak has announced the introduction of attributed recycled polymers, becoming the first company in the food and beverage packaging industry to be awarded the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) Advanced Products certification. The move marks a key step towards circularity that includes minimising dependency on virgin, fossil-based resources, responsibly sourcing raw materials, designing packages for enhanced recycling, and building partnerships to develop effective collection and recycling infrastructure worldwide. Early in 2022, Tetra Pak in partnership with Elvir, a subsidiary of Savencia Fromage & Dairy – a world leading milk processor – has become the first carton packaging player in the food and beverage
industry to launch a cap using attributed recycled polymers.
Optimal UHT portfolio cuts water usage and carbon emissions for the dairy sector
Tetra Pak’s new UHT 2.0 portfolio with OneStep technology, combined with Tetra Pak® E3/Speed Hyper packaging equipment reduces water use by 70 per cent, greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent and product losses by 30 per cent compared to a conventional line solution. The Tetra Pak® E3/Speed Hyper filling machine for portion packages uses eBeam sterilisation technology to be more efficient and faster than has previously been possible.
Tetra Pak has committed at least €100 million annually over the next 5–10 years in sustainability innovation to help deliver processing and packaging solutions with a minimal carbon footprint.
