The company’s 25th Sustainability Report details:
- An action-oriented approach towards food systems[1] transformation, establishing four key pathways with targets, as launched at COP28.
- Launching an aseptic beverage carton featuring a paper-based barrier with 90% renewable content.
- A 47% reduction in operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions[2] since 2019.
The Philippines – Tetra Pak recently launched its 25th Sustainability Report, which tracks the progress the company has made against its sustainability agenda. It focuses on five interdependent areas: food systems, circularity, climate, nature, and social sustainability.
Launched on United Nation’s World Environment Day, the company’s Sustainability Report FY23[1] shows a 20% reduction in value chain[2] GHG emissions and a 47% reduction in GHG emissions across its operations since 2019. The latter puts Tetra Pak on track to meet its target of net zero GHG emissions in its operations by 2030[3] and supports the company’s long-term ambition to work together with suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders and achieve net-zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050.[4]
Another significant milestone saw the launch of an aseptic beverage carton featuring a paper-based barrier, reducing its carbon footprint by a third (33%)[5] and bringing the company a step closer to developing the world’s most sustainable food package.[6] This world-first resulted from a €100 million investment in packaging research and development in 2023, with the same investment planned annually for the next five to ten years. Adolfo Orive, President & CEO at Tetra Pak, comments, “Collaboration across the food industry is ever more important to feed a growing population sustainably. Our global presence and end-to-end solutions give us daily opportunities to collaborate with stakeholders across the value chain, from farmers and food producers to suppliers, policymakers, consumers, and others. We understand the responsibility that comes with this
[1] Financial year 2023 (FY23) is the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
[2] Scopes 1, 2 & 3. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the reporting company. Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain.
[3] Scopes 1, 2 and business travel – compared to 2019.
[4] Scopes 1, 2 & 3 – compared to 2019.
[5] Carbon Trust™-verified Tetra Pak ‘Carton CO2 Calculator’ model version 9 (valid from 2023-01-01). Scope: cradle-to-grave measurement of a Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf carton with plant-based polymers in coating and paper-based barrier compared to a standard Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf package. Geography: EU Industry data.
[6] Tetra Pak’s ambition is to create the ‘world’s most sustainable food package. This means creating cartons that are made of renewable or recycled materials, which are responsibly sourced, thereby helping protect and restore our planet’s climate, resources, and biodiversity; contributing towards low carbon production and distribution; convenient and safe, therefore helping to enable a resilient food system; fully recyclable.
role. We remain committed to playing our part to transform the world’s food systems to ensure they are more secure, resilient, and sustainable.”
Tetra Pak implements Cartons for Communities (CFC) in the Philippines, a comprehensive initiative to promote carton recycling and sustainability. The program includes education and awareness, collection and infrastructure, and advocacy and policy, enabling Tetra Pak to effectively collaborate with schools, communities, and local governments to promote recycling.
Through CFC, Tetra Pak Philippines has doubled its growth in recycling volume compared to the previous year. This surge is part of a consistent upward trend, with a 23% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) observed since 2020. “Our collaborative initiatives have expanded across the nation, working directly with 15 local government units (LGUs) throughout Region 4A (Calabarzon) and the city of Baguio. These partnerships are pivotal in driving our vision for a greener future as we continue to innovate and invest in sustainable practices,” Catherine Chua, Sustainability Manager for the Philippines at Tetra Pak said.
Tetra Pak’s Sustainability Report FY23 highlights company achievements in the past year and its ongoing initiatives to protect food, people, and the planet. These include:
- Expanding School Feeding Programmes: The company helped 64 million children in 49 countries access milk and other nutritious beverages through School Feeding Programmes.
- Accelerating Recycling: The amount of carton packages collected and sent for recycling worldwide rose 7% compared to 2022. Additionally, there was a 14% increase in the volume of polyAl[1] sent for recycling.[2]
- Again, getting recognition for Leadership in Corporate Transparency and Performance: Tetra Pak was included in the CDP Forests ‘A List for the eighth consecutive year. Additionally, the company received an ‘A-‘ rating in Water Security despite its first year of reporting in this area.
- Actively implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The total FY23 report can be found here.
[1] Definition: A food system is a system that embraces all the elements (environment, people, inputs, processes, infrastructure, institutions, markets, and trade) and activities that relate to the production, processing, distribution and marketing, preparation, and consumption of food and the outputs of these activities, including socio-economic and environmental outcomes. Source: High-Level Task Force on Global Food and Nutrition Security (HLTF) (un.org)
[2] Scopes 1, 2, and business travel
[3] The financial year 2023 (FY23) is the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
[4] Scopes 1, 2 & 3. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the reporting company. Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain.
[5] Scopes 1, 2, and business travel – compared to 2019.
[6] Scopes 1, 2 & 3 – compared to 2019.
[7] Carbon Trust™-verified Tetra Pak ‘Carton CO2 Calculator’ model version 9 (valid from 2023-01-01). Scope: cradle-to-grave measurement of a Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf carton with plant-based polymers in coating and paper-based barrier compared to a standard Tetra Brik® Aseptic 200 Slim Leaf package. Geography: EU Industry data.
[8] Tetra Pak’s ambition is to create the ‘world’s most sustainable food package. This means creating cartons that are made of renewable or recycled materials, which are responsibly sourced, thereby helping protect and restore our planet’s climate, resources, and biodiversity; contributing towards low carbon production and distribution; convenient and safe, therefore helping to enable a resilient food system; fully recyclable.
[9] The non-fiber component of carton packages is known as polyAl, which designates the layers of polyethylene and aluminum being used as a barrier against oxygen and humidity to protect the food content in aseptic carton packages.
[10] For the reported carton packages collected for recycling, we use, where available, official publicly available data from renowned sources, such as governmental agencies, registered recovery organizations, nationwide industry associations, NGOs, etc., reported regularly using a consistent approach.
