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Tetra Pak makes net zero commitment

Published June 19, 2020

Tetra Pak, the food processing and packaging company, announced on 11 June that it is committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 in its operations, aiming for net zero across the entire value chain by 2050.

Alongside this commitment, the company has also stated it will “set emissions reduction targets in line with 1.5°C according to the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative across scopes 1, 2 and 3.”

In order to achieve its targets, the company will be focussing on four key areas:

• Lowering energy related emissions
• Partnering with suppliers and other stakeholders along the value chain to significantly reduce its carbon footprint
• Accelerating the development of its low carbon circular packaging and equipment portfolio
• Developing sustainable recycling value chains

The company has been collecting data on its energy use since 1999, and its greenhouse gas accounts have been independently audited since 2013.

“Ten years ago, we set a climate goal to cap our 2020 impact across the value chain at 2010 levels, while growing the business. This helped us save 12 million tonnes of GHG emissions to date. We believe that our ability to set and demonstrate progress in line with science and societal expectations, our innovation drive and the collaborative approach across the value chain put us all on the right path to achieve our new ambition,”​ said Lars Holmquist, Executive Vice President Packaging Solutions and Commercial Operations at Tetra Pak.

It is worth also noting that last month Tetra Pak joined the European Alliance for a Green Recovery. The alliance brings together 270 companies to support a green recovery plan focused on the fight against climate change, the protection of biodiversity, and resilient food supply chains. The company’s net zero commitment is in following with the goals of the alliance.

In its 2019 Sustainability Report, Tetra Pak’s CEO, Adolfo Drive, said this of the company’s view on sustainability:

“We believe that the economy of the future must be circular and low-carbon with a minimum climate impact across the entire food value chain. We are working to achieve this by delivering solutions with the lowest carbon footprint and highest efficiency, minimizing the environmental impact on our own operations and working with partners to address the end-of-life of our products. And we are proud to be on track with our 2020 carbon emissions reduction ambitions.”

The report, which you can read in full in the link above, also states that Tetra Pak has saved a cumulative total of >10m tons CO2-equivalent throughout their value chain since 2010. The company was also the first in the food packaging industry to have its climate impact reduction targets approved by the SBT initiative, back in 2016.

Tags greenhouse gas emissions Net Zero science-based targets Tetra Pak