Sustainable Converting Pioneering a sustainable future
By Tetra Pak executive vice president packaging solutions and commercial operations, Lars Holmquist
Bonsucro, helping us ensure we meet all the criteria and provisions for protecting biodiversity and natural environments. Talking recyclability, today, carton packages are recyclable. They are collected and recycled where efficient waste management and recycling infrastructure is in place. But for us at Tetra Pak, that’s not enough. We are seeking opportunities across the entire recycling value chain to improve how cartons get recycled. We see it as our fundamental obligation to support the global and regional collection, sorting and recycling of carton packages.
W
hile awareness of the climate emergency has vastly increased in recent years, many still fail to grasp how protecting the environment and expanding access to safe food are closely intertwined as priorities. The simple fact is that we need to tackle them together. The global food system accounts for 26% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, about a third of all food produced is lost or wasted, which also carries a significant carbon footprint – a whopping 8% of global GHG emissions. To put it another way, if food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of emissions. We believe that, only by seeing circular economy models through a climate-lens, will we decarbonise materials fast enough to protect our planet. Against this backdrop, sustainable food processing and packaging solutions will make a difference, help mitigate climate change and address other environmental concerns while feeding a growing population; and we’re humbled to be recognised as one of the Top 50 Sustainability and Climate leaders for our work so far. Comparative studies often show that, already today, the high share of renewable materials in Tetra Pak carton packages (approx. 70% paperboard) helps them feature a lower carbon footprint than many other
alternatives, such as glass, plastic or metal packages. But we want to do more. We aim at creating the world’s most sustainable food package – cartons that are fully made from renewable or recycled materials, fully recyclable and carbon-neutral. To realise this future carton, we will take a holistic environmental approach. This becomes critical when considering the carbon footprint of packaging materials. With global demand for raw materials expected to double by 2060, the sourcing and processing of these materials will account for nearly one- third of all GHG emissions by 2050. At Tetra Pak, we have chosen to focus on an innovation pathway driven by renewability and recyclability, to ensure the de-carbonisation and circularity of materials and address the need for sustainable food packaging. Therefore, we are accelerating the shift from high carbon, fossil-based materials to low carbon, renewable ones. No less important, those materials need to be sourced responsibly, to minimise human and societal, as well as environmental risk, including biodiversity loss. This is why we are committed to sustainable sourcing. We rely on a platform of voluntary certification standards, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) and
We support initiatives to drive major improvements in waste management and recycling infrastructures worldwide, while simultaneously raising consumer awareness on the importance of recycling and the impact of littering. We are focused on simplifying the packaging material structure and increasing paper-based content, through continued investments in the development of alternative solutions to replace fossil-based plastics and reduce risk of littering. We are co-investing to expand global recycling capacity, as well as new technology and solutions, to ensure cartons are transformed into new raw material and products, keeping valuable resources in use to help build a circular economy. Creating our future food package will not be easy and will also not happen overnight but we remain fully committed towards this goal. In fact, “Leading the sustainability transformation” is one of the core pillars of Tetra Pak’s Strategy 2030, which will guide our company over the next decade. As we see it, to truly drive sustainability, you have to go above and beyond, investing in and addressing all relevant issues along your value chain.
The food sector’s role is becoming increasingly essential to tackling climate change. By stepping up investment and innovations to realise the ultimate sustainable package - fully made of renewable or recycled materials, fully recyclable and carbon-neutral – we are playing our part to protect food, people and the planet.
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tetrapak.com
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July/August 2021
convertermag.com
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