Tetra Pak plans to reduce carbon footprint by 50% in 2030

Swedish packaging giant Tetra Pak is planning to cut its carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2030 as part of its 20 actions for 2030, said Gilles Tisserand, vice president climate and biodiversity, on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the company has been included in CDP ‘A List’ for the fourth year running, as it recognises that it is taking the right steps on combatting climate change and minimising deforestation risks.

Tisserand noted that Tetra Pak was among few companies to achieve a double ‘A’, out of nearly 15,000 companies that were scored based on data submitted through CDP’s 2022 Climate Change and Forests questionnaires.

“With food systems responsible for about a third of global GHG emissions, global players like us must collaborate across the value chain to accelerate action.” Tisserand said.

“In today’s world, decoupling climate impact and economic growth is becoming increasingly challenging, whilst corporate transparency is more and more seen as the ‘make it or break it’ for business success – and rightfully so.

“We recognise the long journey ahead, but future proofing our business to be aligned with a 1.5°C pathway is essential, and we are fully committed to play our part.”

He further said the double ‘A’ score highlights Tetra Pak’s longstanding commitment to environmental action.

For instance, Tisserand explained that the company reduced operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 36 percent in 2021, with 80 percent of electricity coming from renewable sources, while accelerating work with the 44 raw materials suppliers that are part of its “Join Us in Protecting the Planet” initiative.

As a further demonstration of how collaboration is critical to address global warming, he said that Tetra Pak launched in early 2022 an industry-first land restoration initiative in Brazil, joining forces with local NGO Apremavi. The aim is to restore up to 7,000 hectares of the Atlantic Forest by 2030 for biodiversity recovery, carbon removal, as well as climate change mitigation.

Later in August 2022, the company’s target to reach net-zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050 has been approved by Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) under its Corporate Net-Zero Standard4. For Tetra Pak, this means a 46 percent reduction of absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions by 2030, and a 90 percent reduction across the same set of scopes by 2050.