TetraPak ramps up focus on biodiversity, carbon capture and plant-based packaging

25 Aug 2022 --- Tetra Pak outlines the company’s efforts to “green up” its production strategy over the previous year in its annual sustainability report. These include increasing the capacity of solar energy to 5.55 megawatt, reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions by 36% and sourcing 80% of energy from renewable sources.

In the report, the Swedish-Swiss packaging giant commits to halve its best practice processing lines’ carbon impact, water use and food waste by 2030.

The report also emphasizes TetraPak’s early 2022 launch of a land restoration program in Brazil in partnership with the local NGO Apremav. By 2030, it is intended to restore up to 7,000 hectares of land for the recovery of biodiversity, carbon capture and climate change mitigation.

Adolfo Orive, president and CEO at Tetra Pak, says that “sustainability is not just on the agenda. It is the agenda. We must ‘walk the talk’ by maximizing our positive impact on nature and society, and by continuing to embed sustainability as a key business driver and decision-making criteria.”

TetraPak commits to halve some processing lines’ carbon impact, water use and food waste by 2030.“Our ambition is to lead sustainability transformation within our industry and our initiatives in this regard have continued over the last 12 months, working together with our customers and partners to support their own efforts as well.”

“The cost of inaction on sustainability today is a world we won’t recognize tomorrow. Our progress depends on being able to embrace a mindset which drives both growth and sustainability for a better future,” he asserts.

Report outlines
Tetra Pak sold 10.8 billion plant-based caps and 17.6 billion plant-based packaging items in the last year, the company reports. It details this as the equivalent of 96,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions saved when compared to that produced by fossil fuel-based plastic production.

TetraPak also supported the collecting and recycling of 50 billion cartons by investing €40 million (US$39.9 million).

In other developments, the company successfully completed a commercial validation of a polymer-based barrier to replace the aluminum layer in aseptic cartons. Meanwhile, a novel fiber-based barrier touted as “a first” is currently being tested for use in food carton containers dispersed in ambient circumstances.

Circularity moves
Together with Elvir, a division of milk processor Savencia Fromage & Dairy, Tetra Pak is marketing itself as “the first” carton packaging company in the food and beverage sector to introduce a cap made from 100% recycled polymers.

Meanwhile, in a bid to boost alternative proteins alongside promoting circularity, the company has forged agreements with a number of different industry specialists to turn potential food waste into alternative protein-based food ingredients for nutritious applications.

“Collective action, innovation, new operating models and unconventional partnerships will be necessary to accelerate the current pace of change toward a more [environmentally] sustainable tomorrow,” Adolfo concludes.

Edited by Mieke Meintjes