Tetra Pak hits 80 percent renewable carton milestone with Aseptic 1000 Edge with Bio-based LightCap

27 Nov 2018 --- Tetra Pak reached another major milestone on its journey towards producing all packaging using sustainably managed, renewable materials with the December 2016 launch of the Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge with Bio-based LightCap. Adopted by Netherlands-based FrieslandCampina earlier in 2018 for its popular chocolate milk brand, Chocomel, the 80 percent raw plant material carton continues to attract more sustainability-driven customers.

With the plastic film and cap made from polymers derived from sugarcane and paperboard from renewable sources, this is the first aseptic carton package in the world to receive the highest level of certification from TUV Austria, globally recognized for assessing the renewable content of packaging products.

Earlier in 2018, FrieslandCampina, a customer in the Netherlands, was the first food producer in the world that adopted the new package; testament, Tetra Pak believes, to the fact that sustainability is increasingly seen as a key differentiator and source of competitive advantage.

FrieslandCampina made the decision to move its iconic Chocomel drink into Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge based on the package’s shelf appeal and functionality, but primarily because of its alignment with the company’s sustainability strategy.

FrieslandCampina is continuously focusing on packaging improvements in order to further reduce its environmental footprint. “Our purpose – nourishing by nature – stands for better nutrition for consumers in the world, good income for our farmers, now and in the future,” says Luuk Hoskam, Brand Leader, Chocomel. “The choice of a package with a maximum amount of natural renewable materials fits perfectly with that.”

Jan-Willem ter Avest, Director of Corporate Media Relations, tells PackagingInsights: “By 2020, we aim to limit the procurement of agricultural raw materials and paper packaging to fully sustainably managed sources.”

“Agricultural raw materials that are already (partially) purchased from sustainably managed sources include products such as cocoa, soy oil, palm oil, cane sugar, starch and paper packaging. These products have globally recognized certificates or they are raw materials for which a plan for sustainable development will be created in cooperation with suppliers,” he explains.

The Holy Grail: In search of the fully renewable aseptic package

“A fully renewable aseptic package is the ambition of Tetra Pak,” Davide Braghiroli, Product Manager Environmental Innovations, Tetra Pak, tells PackagingInsights. “So we are definitely moving in that direction [with the Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge carton.]”

Chocomel pack: 80 percent renewable in the Aseptic 1000 Edge with Bio-based LightCap“80 percent is an important threshold because to reach that level, any package with an advanced opening needs to use bio-based polymers, otherwise it’s impossible to reach that level only with fibers in the paperboard. So this is a step to move indeed to more renewable packaging and detach from fossil resources,” adds Braghiroli.

A big obstacle to high-percentage renewable packaging is its cost-effectiveness, and while Braghiroli concedes that the material supply for cartons such as the Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge is more expensive, he explains that the supplier ensures that prices of these more sustainable alternatives remain economical.

Chocomel: Crossing the 80 percent threshold

The new Chocomel cartons' 80 percent plant material make-up consists of cardboard made from wood that is 100 percent sourced from FSC-certified forests. The plastic cap and the outer plastic layer of the iconic yellow-colored pack are made from plants. The materials are based on waste plant material that is left over once all the edible parts have been taken out, further enhancing the packaging as sustainable with a nod towards the circular economy.

By crossing the 80 percent threshold, FrieslandCampina has also achieved the highest possible four-star certificate from TUV Austria's certification program: Ok Biobased.

The Ok Biobased certification guarantees that the packaging of a product contributes in an innovative manner to resolving the economic and environmental problem of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases.

Compared with the previous packaging, the new Chocomel pack yields a CO2 saving of 17 percent, according to the independent Swedish environmental research institute IVL.

By Joshua Poole, with additional reporting from Laxmi Haigh