Tetra Pak shares environmental highpoints

FOR Tetra Pak, 2014 was a good year for environmental triumphs. The company which has set ambitious goals to develop sustainable products and to protect the environment, recently said that it is on track to achieve its 2020 targets.

In 2014, it launched the Tetra Rex® Bio-based, a renewable carton that is made from paperboard and plant-based plastics, and its own TwistCap^TM OSO 34 bio-based opening. The very first of its kind, the product is being tested by dairy company, Valio in retail outlets in Finland.

Tetra Rex® Bio-based renewable carton

Last year, Tetra Pak also secured Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) Chain of Custody certification for the remaining seven of its 92 facilities and legal entities worldwide. Now, it can deliver FSC labelled packages from any of its facilities around the world. In fact, it delivered close to 44 billion FSC labelled packages to customers last year – this is 38% higher than 2013. Tetra Pak has also produced more than 130 billion packages bearing the FSC logo since unveiling its first one in 2007.

Environmental footprint

The company has also reduced its footprint. Data validated mid-way through 2014 showed CO2 emissions across all parts of the Tetra Pak value chain down 8% from a 2010 baseline, even as its production increased by 7% over the same time-frame.

In its operations, the company continued to keep CO2e emissions below its 2010 target threshold. In 2014, emissions were 1.5% lower than in 2010, even as production levels were 13% higher.

Tetra Pak’s ratings from the Carbon Disclosure Project climbed significantly during 2014. The company’s Carbon Disclosure score increased from 91 to 97, against an industry average of 53, while its Carbon Performance rating was A–, up from a B rating in 2013 and compared with an industry average of C.

Tetra Pak introduced new food processing and packaging solutions to help customers reduce their own environmental impact, while also improving their operational efficiency. These included:

• The Tetra Therm® Aseptic Flex, a continuous aseptic processing unit​ that offers dairy producers the highest levels of UHT performance at the lowest environmental impact and total cost of ownership
• A new high-acid juice pasteurization process that can save manufacturers up to 20% on energy consumption, by reducing the temperature of the second pasteurizati​on process from 95°C to 80°C, without compromising the safety or quality of the finished product
• An Environmental Benchmarking Service​ to help food and beverage companies assess the environmental performance of their production operations, and to identify opportunities for improvement
• A broader range of bio-based caps and closures. Depending on type, a bio-based cap reduces CO2 emissions by between 14% and 19% compared with its fossil-fuel derived equivalent

Recycling efforts

Last year, 651,000 tonnes of used beverage cartons were recycled globally, up from 623,000 tonnes in the previous year. This represents 26% of the company’s annual delivery, which is relatively low comparing to the 2020 target of 40%. However, the company remains committed, and is working with its partners to address the challenges such as the lack of infrastructure in emerging markets.

To support the recycling process, the company introduced Tetra Top® with Separable Top for both chilled and ambient products. The package, with its familiar plastic top and carton sleeve, is now designed in a way that allows consumers to simply and quickly detach the top from the sleeve once empty, allowing them to be recycled separately.

The Tetra Top® with Separable Top for both chilled and ambient products

“We set ourselves some aggressive environmental targets and, by and large, we remain nicely on track to achieve them,” says Mario Abreu, the newly-appointed vice president, Environment for Tetra Pak. “We well recognise the absolute imperative of keeping a sharp focus on this ever-more important dimension of our business; securing growth while acting and operating in ways that best protect the future of our planet, and delivering the products, services and support that help our customers to do the same.”​

The FSC license code of Tetra Pak is FSC™ C014047