Tetra Pak named among top sustainability leaders

Tetra Pak has been recognised by the 50 Climate Leaders Project as one of the 50 companies that have taken effective action in the fight against climate change.

The food processing and packaging solutions company has been acknowledged for its commitment to pioneer a sustainable future, with a documentary showcasing its journey. The video features interviews with members of Tetra Pak’s Global Leadership Team, highlighting how the role of the food sector in tackling climate change is becoming even more imperative. They explain why accelerating de-carbonisation and collaborations is critical to lead the sustainability transformation of the food packaging industry — addressing complex and multifaceted challenges such as global warming, circularity and biodiversity.

“Our company was founded on the philosophy that a package should save more than it costs,” said Tetra Pak President & CEO Adolfo Orive.

“Sustainability has always been at the core of everything we do, as such it is also a fundamental building block of our 2030 strategy, so we are proud to receive industry recognition for our work to date.”

Food is a critical but often overlooked element of the climate issue. The global food system accounts for 26% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions¹, while 8% of total emissions are caused by food waste². In other words, if food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest producer of emissions. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of the world’s food system, which will only be further amplified by the expected growth of the worldwide population to 9.1 billion by 2050³.

According to Tetra Pak, high-performance food packaging plays a critical role in feeding the world, but it must do so sustainably, so that food availability does not come at the cost of the planet.

“We have already taken great strides on our journey to pioneer a sustainable future. However, with the current climate crisis and the potential food security challenges, we believe that the food packaging industry needs a major step change in its evolution. Our ambition is to deliver the world’s most sustainable food package. This means creating cartons that are fully made from renewable or recycled materials, are fully recyclable and carbon neutral. We see this as the only way to protect what’s good — food, people and the planet,” Orive said.

^{1. https://ourworldindata.org/food-ghg-emissions}

^{2. UN FAO, Food wastage footprint & climate change}

^{3. http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/35571/icode/}

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