Report highlights commitment to increasing sustainability
Packaging and processing company Tetra Pak published its annual Sustainability Report in August this year, which highlights the company’s achievements and ongoing initiatives to protect food, people and the planet, which aligns with its commitment to halve the food waste, water consumption and carbon footprint of its best practice processing lines by 2030.
The report details the company’s actions to help realise resilient and sustainable food systems.
The sustainability challenges underscore the need for a radical new approach to the way “we feed the world while minimising the impact on the planet” - from how food is sourced, produced and processed, to its transportation, the materials used to package it, and the critical role of collaborations in making it happen.
“Sustainability is not just in the agenda. It is The Agenda. We must ‘walk the talk’ by maximising our positive impact on nature and society, by continuing to embed sustainability as a key business driver and decision-making criteria,” said Tetra Pak president and CEO Adolfo Orive.
“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 recognise tomorrow. Our progress depends on being able to embrace a mindset which drives both growth and sustainability for a better future.”
The report highlights the various initiatives and the respective results thereof. This includes reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions by 36%, with 80% of energy coming from renewable sources, though a doubling of solar energy capacity to 5.55 MW.
Tetra Pak also launched a pioneering land restoration initiative in Brazil, in collaboration with Brazilian non-government organisation Apremavi in early 2022. The aim of the initiative is to restore up to 7 000 ha of land by 2030 for biodiversity recovery, carbon capture and climate change mitigation.
The company sold 17.6-billion plant-based packages and 10.8-billion plant-based caps in the past year, enabling the saving of 96 000 t of carbon dioxide, when compared to fossil fuel-based plastic.
Tetra Pak invested €40-million to support the collection and recycling of 50-billion cartons, contributing to a circular economy.
Through its school feeding programmes, Tetra Pak was able to provide 61-million children in 41 countries with milk or other nutritious beverages in Tetra Pak packages.
The company also successfully completed a commercial validation of a polymer-based barrier to replace the aluminium layer in aseptic cartons. Testing has started on a new fibre-based barrier – a first within food carton packages distributed under ambient conditions.
Tetra Pak became the first carton packaging player in the food and beverage industry to launch a cap using attributed recycled polymers, in partnership with leading milk processor Savencia Fromage & Dairy subsidiary Elvir.
Further, Tetra Pak partnered with several innovative companies to transform potential food waste into sources of nutritious food, as well as developing alternative protein-based food applications. Along with the potential for a lower carbon footprint, alternative proteins offer scope for significantly reduced land and water use, compared with traditional sources.
“I recognise the long journey ahead and the step change needed by the industry. Collective action, innovation, new operating models and unconventional partnerships will be necessary to accelerate the current pace of change towards a more sustainable tomorrow,” concludes Orive.
Comments
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation