Last week (16 October 2019), at the Carbon Trust’s Annual Corporate Sustainability Summit in London, Tetra Pak was recognised for its industry leading work in the Product Footprinting category. Tetra Pak was awarded for its role in reducing the carbon impact of a customer’s packaging. By switching to a partially plant-based material for both its Tetra Brik® and Tetra Prisma® carton packages, a 21% reduction in the carbon footprint of the packaging for the product was achieved.

Charles Brand, President of Tetra Pak Europe & Central Asia said, “We are committed to helping our customers minimise the environmental impacts of their packaging choices and we are thrilled this is being recognised through our award from Carbon Trust. Our cartons are made predominantly from plant-based materials such as paperboard and plant-based polymers, which have a significantly lower carbon impact than alternative packaging options such as most bottles or cans. Plant-based materials can be replenished over time and, when grown and managed responsibly, positively contribute to reduced climate impact.”

The corporate climate leadership event, hosted by Carbon Trust, focussed on how organisations can take the lead in accelerating the transition to a sustainable and low carbon economy and featured inspiring keynotes and panel sessions to discuss the challenges and opportunities in more detail.

“It is vital that businesses take the lead in supporting communities to make a positive impact on our planet and give them the tools to help solve some of our greatest environmental challenges”, continued Brand.

Since 2018, Tetra Pak has worked closely with Carbon Trust on an online Carton CO2 Calculator. The calculator helps users to make informed choices on packaging based on carbon impact. The Carbon Trust certified calculator is designed to easily compare the relative greenhouse gas emissions associated with different packaging choices, which gives customers visibility, with a detailed breakdown of emission sources and understanding around the impact their packaging selection will have on climate change.

The calculator is part of a wider collaboration with Carbon Trust. In 2019, the scope of the certification was expanded to include reductions in the carbon footprint of packages using plant-based polymers in the packaging material and caps. Tetra Pak now has the option to use the label ‘Reducing CO2 Packaging’ together with its customers.

From the introduction of plant-based caps in 2012 and subsequently the first, and still only, fully renewable beverage carton in 2014, Tetra Pak is in a good position to collaborate with customers and other stakeholders on the journey towards a low carbon circular economy. Tetra Pak has started to roll out the calculator and labelling selectively.

“We are delighted to acknowledge Tetra Pak’s impressive work on reducing the carbon impact of its packaging with this Best in Product Footprinting Award. Not only has it delivered a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of its Tetra Brik and Tetra Prisma packaging, it has also created an important tool to support customers to make more informed purchasing choices through its online carbon calculator.

We have worked with Tetra Pak for a number of years as they have taken increasingly progressive steps in climate leadership, and we are delighted that they will be carrying the Carbon Trust ‘Reducing CO2 Packaging’ label on pack to communicate the sustainability of new ranges,” says Hugh Jones, Managing Director, Advisory, Carbon Trust.

Image Carbon Trust ceremony, from left: Nazanin Moradi, Erik Lindroth Tetra Pak and Morgan Jones, Carbon Trust