Tetra Pak to install solar array at US headquarters in landmark sustainability action

19 Sep 2018 --- Multinational food packaging and processing company Tetra Pak is set to install a solar array at its US headquarters in Denton, Texas. It is estimated that the solar array will generate one million kilowatt hours of energy per annum once installation is complete at an expected date of late November this year. The move comes as part of Tetra Pak’s ambitions to use 100 percent renewable electricity in the US by 2019 and worldwide by 2030.

“Using electricity from renewable resources makes sense for the environment and for business,” comments Jason Pelz, Vice President of Circular Economy at Tetra Pak Americas and Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Speaking in a statement on Monday, he continues: “It ensures we're not tied to a finite resource to operate our business. And by lowering our environmental footprint, we're also supporting our customers' goals to reduce their overall climate impact.”

The Denton campus facilitates Tetra Pak’s food production plant and carton material factory in addition to office headquarters.

It has been reported that in the last two years, Tetra Pak has increased its use of renewable electricity by a factor of 2.5, up from 20 percent in 2016. The increase has been achieved through the purchase of International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs) and solar panel installations, such as an existing panel on the roof of the Denton campus.

Tetra Pak hits 50 percent renewable electricity consumption landmark
In July, Tetra Pak announced that it now obtains half of its global electricity supply from renewable sources, putting the company firmly on course to meet its RE100 commitment of using only renewable electricity across all global operations by 2030.

At the time, Mario Abreu, Vice President Sustainability at Tetra Pak said: “Using renewable energy is an important part of our journey to reduce the carbon impact of our own operations and so help tackle climate change.”

“Through the purchase of renewable energy certificates, we are investing in the development of infrastructure to increase the availability of renewable electricity. Meanwhile, we are also exploring opportunities to scale up our own on-site solar power installations,” he added.

Tetra Pak’s factories in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and South Africa use electricity from 100 percent renewable sources and 17 of its major sites now run exclusively on renewable electricity.

The company was the first to source Gold-Standard I-RECs in Thailand, where its local factory will soon also generate an additional 1MW renewable electricity from solar panels. Elsewhere in the world, it is a major purchaser of I-REC certificates in China and was the first to source Ekoenergy solar power in South Africa.

RE100 is a global, collaborative business initiative led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP to drive demand for, and delivery of, renewable power.

By Joshua Poole