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Our commitment towards sustainable food systems

At Tetra Pak, our sustainability agenda is shaped by our purpose ‘We commit to making food safe and available, everywhere and we promise to protect what’s good: protecting food, people and the planet.’

Our sustainability agenda

With a world-leading position in food processing and packaging, backed by more than 70 years of trusted experience, we aim to lead the sustainability transformation within our industry. To do that, our sustainability agenda focuses on five interconnected areas where we have the greatest impact, risks and opportunities: Food systems, Climate, Circularity, Nature and Social sustainability. Food systems lie at the heart of our sustainability agenda. As a producer of 174 billion paper-based carton packages in 2024, Tetra Pak has a role to play in helping to feed the growing global population by minimising food loss and waste, reducing climate impact, acting for nature and promoting circularity – while respecting human rights across our own operations and the value chain.

Committed to openness and transparency

We are committed to monitoring, managing and transparently reporting on our performance and progress. Our sustainability agenda is based on our double materiality assessment, which is aligned with the requirements of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The assessment considered Tetra Pak’s impacts on people and the environment, as well as the material risks and opportunities that various environmental, social and governance topics have on our business.

Sustainability highlights

Below are some of our 2024 sustainability highlights. For the full story, see our latest Sustainability Report

Food and cartons

Food systems

From farm to fork:
Transforming the hidden middle

In 2024, we highlighted the crucial role of the ‘hidden middle’ in agri-food value chains, which includes activities like processing, packaging, storage, transportation and distribution. While often overlooked, this segment, is essential for transforming food systems, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving food security.

By investing in midstream infrastructure and technologies, these losses can be substantially decreased, leading to better resource efficiency and the improved availability of food. We advocate for increased investment and policy focus in this segment to reduce food loss, improve resource efficiency, and support economic growth, particularly for smallholder farmers and marginalised groups.

Tetra Pak Homogenizer, 1.3 tonnes reduction of CO2 emissions

Climate

Our new homogenizer range incorporates low-carbon steel

We have enhanced our homogenizer range by incorporating Outokumpu Circle Green® stainless steel, a material with a carbon footprint up to 93% lower than the global industry average for stainless steel.1 Depending on model, using Circle Green on a homogenizer can reduce embodied CO2e emissions by up to 1.3 tonnes per machine.2

This innovation aligns with our commitment to sustainability and reducing environmental impact in food processing and packaging solutions. The new homogenizers not only enhance environmental benefits but also maintain the high performance and reliability expected from Tetra Pak equipment. The use of Circle Green stainless steel will help us to work towards our ambitious climate goals and support the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

Carton packages and recycling logo

Circularity

Shaping the future of recycled beverage carton packaging

Together with Lactalis, a world leading dairy group, we introduced the world’s first carton package made from certified recycled polymers derived from used beverage cartons. This initiative, certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS, aims to enhance material circularity by reducing the reliance on virgin, fossil-based materials. The recycled polymers are produced through a chemical recycling process that maintains the quality and safety of the packaging.

Map Europe, 3 million joint investment

Circularity

Tetra Pak and Yellow Dreams join force sto boost carton recycling capacity in EU

With a joint investment of around €3 million together with Yellow Dreams, a new recycling plant in the Netherlands will handle the non-fibre component (polyAl) from used beverage cartons to boost the recycling capacity in the EU.

The collaboration will draw on Yellow Dreams’ expertise in waste management and our innovative packaging solutions. By focusing on improving collection, sorting and recycling processes, the initiative will promote more efficient and sustainable recycling practices. This partnership underscores our commitment to environmental sustainability and the circular economy, aiming to reduce waste and promote the reuse of valuable materials.

Carton packages and water wave

Nature

Realising customer water, chemicals and energy savings

We helped Dairygold Co-operative, one of Ireland’s leading dairy companies, to make its production more efficient and sustainable. In 2024, this included improvements in cleaning-in-place (CIP) processes and reducing water and chemical consumption.

New filtration technology has made it possible for Dairygold to recover and reuse up to 90% of the caustic soda used for CIP. Using less caustic soda also decreases the need to add acid, which is needed to neutralise the wastewater. In addition, Dairygold implemented solutions to reduce water consumption and heating load.

Forest

Nature

Recognised for transparency on forests for the ninth year running

We were recognised for our leadership in corporate transparency and performance on forests by the global environmental non-profit CDP, again securing a place on its annual ‘A List’. The recognition highlights our commitment to sustainable practices and our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our operations.

Tetra Pak is among the top 2% of the over 21,000 companies assessed, demonstrating our dedication to transparency and environmental stewardship. Our approach to nature is closely related to our ambitions on climate, circularity, social sustainability and food systems.

Related links and downloads

1 Global average CO2 emissions (2023): 7 kg CO2e per kg of stainless steel (Outokumpu’s calculation based on data provided by CRU, worldstainless and Kobolde & Partners AB). Outokumpu Circle Green CO2 emissions: down to 0.5 kg of CO2e per kg of stainless steel.
2 Outokumpu’s calculation based on data from CRU and Worldstainless: European average of 2.8t/tCO2 and Circle Green of 0.57t/tCO2 .