tetra pak renewables in-packaging white paper

WHAT IS RENEWABILITY IN PACKAGING, AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE? 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

sustainability by transitioning from the linear ‘take, make,

dispose’ model for packaging to a circular, restorative model that

considers every stage of the package life cycle.2 In particular,

businesses could shift the traditional focus from the end of

the package life cycle to the beginning, by considering the

raw materials and quantity used in the creation of a package.

The main role of a package is to protect the product within,

but as long as this is upheld, the sourcing of raw materials and

renewability can become a priority.

The world is growing. Increased travel, greater

populations in urban areas, and higher demand

for convenience products and packaging are

putting an alarming strain on the world’s supply

of scarce natural resources. Supplies of clean air

and water are under pressure; and oil, natural gas,

and minerals are expected to run out by the end

of this century.1 We are playing a self-destructive

game with the limits of our planet, and the time

to change, innovate, and lead is now.

Businesses can become leaders and protect their long-term


‘Renewability’ – or simply

‘the ability to renew’- is about

using a resource that can

be regrown or replenished

naturally with the passage

of time, such as paperboard-

based packaging and

renewable polymers such as

bio-based polyethylene (PE).

Renewability in packaging

is vital to the future of our

planet to help offset pending

resource scarcity, and also

offers many environmental

benefits such as mitigating

changes in climate patterns,

serving as a carbon sink,

and enabling biodiversity.

Using renewable resources

whenever possible – and the

smallest amount required for

the package to do its job –

will have a positive impact on

our global economic stability

and the ongoing health and

biodiversity of our planet.

Renewable resources in packaging are only a good alternative if

they come from responsibly managed sources. Forests and land

both have credible certification schemes to ensure the ongoing

benefits of trees, plants, and food security to our local ecosystems

and communities. Forest Stewardship CouncilTM (FSC) is

considered to be the leading global certification program by most

NGOs and is supported by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Different

certifications schemes and standards also address the sustainable

production of specific crops. Bonsucro, a relatively new scheme,

is dedicated to reducing the environmental and social impacts of

sugar cane production.

There is no perfect package today, but we can learn about the

carbon impact at each life cycle stage using a tool called Life

Cycle Analysis (LCA). By revealing the big picture, LCA helps

avoid improvement in one area at the expense of another. LCAs

show that using renewable materials in packaging can provide

a step change for positive results. For example, if 75% of a

package’s weight is from renewable paperboard, that element

of the package only contributes 20% of the carbon impact

throughout the package life cycle. 3


Adopting renewable

resources in packaging

means less price volatility

and a more reliable supply

chain. For businesses today,

using renewable resources

in packaging doesn’t have

to be only about managing

costs. Decreasing physical

availability, economic

scarcity, and geopolitical

issues all contribute to an

insecure supply of finite

natural resources.

Embracing and promoting renewability in packaging is also

a differentiating strategy for businesses. If companies adopt

renewable packaging today, they will be on the cutting edge of

a growing movement and have an opportunity to increase brand

equity by being a more trusted, responsible and sustainable

business. Businesses can look at their own operations for

renewable packaging opportunities, and take a leadership

role with industry and consumers. Similar to the evolution of

recycling, as ‘green’ consumers better understand the concept of

renewability, they will embrace it and put pressure on businesses

to offer renewable packaging.


Tetra Pak® takes a holistic approach towards our environmental

footprint evaluating and setting meaningful targets to reduce

the environmental impact of our products throughout their

whole lifecycle. As such, we have set targets for reducing our

carbon emissions and have been global packaging industry

leaders in recycling from the start. But recycling isn’t enough –

and soon our customers and consumers will expect more too.

Therefore, without losing an inch of ground around our

current commitments, we must now turn our attention to the

front end of the lifecycle and how materials are sourced. We

must establish a new industry commitment to renewability —

protecting natural resources and rewarding best practices and

innovations that focus on the front end. Such a commitment

will keep our industry strong and viable in an increasingly

volatile economy. Recycling will continue to be a key part of a

restorative circular economy, but it is not the only component.

With this white paper as

a starting point, we are

launching a new campaign

to help define how

our industry achieves

important renewability

goals around the sourcing

of raw materials.

Working together, the decisions that businesses and consumers make now

can help shape a brighter future for our economic wellbeing, our global

communities, and our planet. Please join us in this important conversation. We

invite you to visit http:www.doingwhatsgood.us/moving-to-the-front/, follow

us on Twitter @TetraPak _NA_Eco, and visit our website at www.tetrapakusa.

com. Thank you for caring about renewability in packaging.

JOIN US IN LEADING A NEW MOVEMENT - TO THE FRONT


The world is growing. And so is demand for our

scarce natural resources. There will be nine billion

of us sharing the planet by 2050, including three

billion new middle-class consumers.4 Increased

road and air travel, greater populations in

urban areas, and higher demand for convenient

packaged goods and products will put an

alarming strain on the world’s supply of clean

water, air, and other natural resources.

Fossil fuels – including oil and natural gas - are predicted to

run out in the next 30-70 years depending on consumption

rates, according to a 2012 futures report by the BBC.5 Minerals -

including aluminum, copper, and silver – are also expected to be

gone by the end of this century.6 While our growing population is

using up resources, we are also throwing away more and creating

new landfills to support our waste. Solid waste generated per

person per day will increase from 2.6 pounds today to 3.1 pounds

by 2025 – an increase of almost 20%. 7

INTRODUCTION

CHANGE NOW: OUR PLANET AND BUSINESSES DEPEND ON IT


Our growing global population is using natural

resources and creating waste at a rate that our

planet is struggling to support. If we don’t change

the current trajectory, we’ll find ourselves living

and working in a world that cannot sustain its

inhabitants. Predictions vary for what this world

will look like. Some extreme views - for the

depletion of oil in particular - include “soaring

gas prices, the end of globalization, widespread

anarchy, and the relentless exploitation of

previously protected drilling sites.” 8 This

scenario would cause major disruption to

businesses and consumers around the world, and

would permanently damage the earth’s natural

environment and biodiversity.

Other views claim the decreasing supply of oil

will inspire increased innovation, such as the

recent development of hybrid cars, which will

result in fewer and different resources being

used to support our needs. A McKinsey article

on resource scarcity supports innovation as an

outcome: “Will shortages of energy, materials,

food, and water put the brakes on global

growth? Far from it. By combining information

technology with industrial technology, as well

as through harnessing materials science and

biotechnology, innovators are showing that it

is possible to produce more with less and to

access resources at far lower costs.”9

The true outcome will likely fall somewhere

in between these different viewpoints. We do

know that global oil supply, for example, cannot

meet current global oil demand forever. Even

if innovation and new technologies allowed us

to harvest every last drop of oil in the planet,

decreased supply and higher prices would

necessitate widespread change long before we

actually ran out of oil.10 The same is true for other

fossil fuels and minerals.

Whichever scenario aligns most closely with

your beliefs – extreme, or perhaps less so – the

truth is we are running dangerously low on

natural resources and playing a self-destructive

game with the limits of our planet. The time to

change, innovate, and lead is now.


Businesses can become leaders in this space - and protect their long-term

prospects - by transitioning from the traditional linear ‘take, make, dispose’

model for packaging to a circular, restorative model that considers every

stage of the package life cycle,11 and by growing awareness about this.

The traditional linear model relies on “large quantities of easily accessible

resources and energy, and as such is increasingly unfit for the reality in

which it operates.”12 The circular economy, in contrast, relies on resources

that can be replenished, eliminates the use of toxic chemicals throughout the

life cycle, and minimizes waste through careful planning and design. 13

a large quantity of resources was used, and the

resources have a limited natural supply, there is

a pressing need to consider smaller quantities

and alternative resources, as long as product

protection remains intact.

Packaging is a good place to start considering

the circular approach. First and foremost, the

role of a package is to protect the product

inside. Only when product protection is

achieved can we consider material and system

trade-offs to improve environmental impacts

of the package itself. Today, most consumers

focus on the ‘dispose’ stage of the linear model,

and specifically on whether or not a package

is recyclable. This is not surprising given the

decades of investment that recycling access and

education have received. Recycling is a key part

of the circular economy, but not the only one.

Sometimes, even if recyclable, a package may

have had a significant environmental impact in

earlier life cycle stages, which is why each stage

needs to be considered. One critical question

is what kind of resources and how many of

them went into the creation of the package? If


‘How were the resources extracted from the

earth, and what impact did this have on local

ecosystems and biodiversity?

How much water, and what type of energy,

was used during manufacturing?

How much transportation fuel was required to

get it to market?

Is the package leading to wastage due to size,

re-sealability, or other characteristics?

What will happen to the package at end of life

– is it recyclable, biodegradable, or reusable?’

And the cycle starts again. Asking and getting answers to

these questions will provide a holistic view of the full life cycle

of packages, and help consider the impact at each stage.

There are a number of other

questions to ask in the next stages

of the circular model:

In this paper, we will focus

on the beginning of the life

cycle. This is not to say we

believe other stages are less

important, but rather that

the beginning of the circular

model usually receives less

visibility - especially when

the subject is sourcing of raw

materials and renewability.


The definition of ‘Renewability’ – or simply ‘the ability to

renew’ – is about using a resource that can be regrown

or replenished naturally with the passage of time. By

renewable materials, we mean materials made from natural

resources that are inexhaustible or replaceable by new

growth. A good example is paperboard – a resource to

make packaging – made of fiber from forests that are

constantly and progressively replanted, and/or naturally

regenerated. There is a common perception that cutting

down trees is bad for the planet. However, if forests are

well-managed so that trees can regrow, they become a

sustainable source of raw material that will be replenished

and, therefore, available for many generations to come.

“Wood, which is the most abundant renewable material on Earth, is made with solar energy in the forest. We believe the correct policy is to grow more trees and use more wood, not less.”

– Dr. Patrick Moore, Founding

Member and former

President of Greenpeace

WHAT IS RENEWABILITY, AND WHY IS IT VITAL?


Another example of a renewable material – and

a more recent innovation - is bio-based plastic

made from crops such as sugar cane, dent

corn or wheat. The beginning of a departure

from plastics made of fossil fuels, which are

nonrenewable, is a positive step. Still, similar

to forests, the land that sources bio-based

plastics must be well-managed to ensure

sustainable food supplies and prices for our

global population. Well-managed forests and

land must also uphold the environmental and

social values in the surrounding communities.

The use of renewable resources in packaging

started with paperboard-based packaging,

which businesses have been using for many

decades. Recent innovations have meant a

gradual move towards growing applications

of renewable polymers, such as bio-based

polyethylene (PE), a plastic sometimes made

from ethanol derived from sugar cane (as

mentioned above). The first bio-based plastics

were used in the early 20th century, to replace

ivory used in mirrors and hair combs. More

recently, applications of bio-based plastics have

been increasing due to the concern over finite

resources such as petroleum.

These recent applications of renewable

polymers started in the automotive and beauty

& care segments, and have been expanding

to the food & drink industry. For example, the

cosmetics company Shiseido has the ambition

to replace 50% of petroleum-based materials

with renewable materials in products by 2020.

For Procter & Gamble, that ambition is 25% by

2020. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Danone have

stated similar ambitious targets for the use of

green polymers in their packaging. On April 28,

2014, Tetra Pak announced the use of bio-based

plastics in packaging for all customers in the

Brazilian market.


“We are particularly proud to be the first in the industry to use bio-based low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in carton packages. We believe that the best way to protect the sustainable future of the packaging industry and meet the global challenge of a growing scarcity of fossil-fuel based raw materials is to further increase the use of renewable resources. We have set an ambition to develop a 100% renewable package, building from an average of 70% today. This launch – which brings the content of renewable materials to as much as 82% in a Tetra Brik® Aseptic 1000ml Base package – is an important step in that direction.”

– Charles Brand, Vice President Marketing & Product Management at Tetra Pak


While the first generation of renewable polymers

is from crops such as dent corn, sugar cane,

and wheat, there has been recent innovation in

polymers from materials such as waste biomass

and algae. One commonly held view is that the

introduction of these new materials in renewable

polymers will help resolve competition with food

and feed crops, and begin to provide a partial

solution for environmental impacts such as land

use change.

“In a world in which the population is growing at a fast pace and demand for food and feedstock are on the rise, the use of feedstock for non-food purposes is often debated. Cereplast’s future family of bioplastics will leverage an algae source rich in ingredients suitable for plastic development, but that also has no effect on the food chain, resulting in a sustainable and population conscious

plastic alternative.”

– Frederic Scheer, Chairman and CEO of Cereplast

“In addition to testing new materials from renewable resources like green-PE, bio-PET and PLA, and identifying opportunities for the use of cardboard from only certified wood sources, we are committed to offering consumers more sustainable product choices.” – Philippe Bonningue, Vice President of Packaging, L’Oreal USA

Food demand is a valid concern, but all of the

variables for food security must be considered

to assess the overall impact of a bio-based

material. These variables include fresh water

availability, land and soil management,

government regulations, climate events, trade

sanctions, and more. There may not be one

solution for bio-based plastic that is clearly

better than others, but perhaps a variety of

solutions will be optimal in different situations.

Our society is on a journey of constant

improvement and innovation to find solutions

with the lowest environmental impact.

Whether from paperboard or bio-based plastics

- or even new materials that haven’t yet been

discovered - renewability in packaging is vital to

the future of our planet to help offset impending

resource scarcity, and the unknown severity of

consequences on business. Depletion of today’s

most commonly used resources will force a

change in the way we do business and consume

products, whether we act now or wait until we

don’t have a choice.


Not only does renewability in packaging help offset

the economic challenges of resource scarcity,

but it also has environmental benefits when the

renewable resources are tied with responsible

land and forest management, which ensures that

the supply is always higher than the demand.

For example, well-managed forests are always

growing, and wood and wood-based products

serve as a sink to absorb growing levels of Co2

from the atmosphere. By soaking up Co2 and other

greenhouse gases, forests play a critical role in

mitigating ongoing changes in climate patterns.14

Forests also play a major role in protecting the

biodiversity of the planet - which is currently

under threat - by giving whole ecosystems of

plants and animals a place to live. Forests cover

31% of the world’s total land area15, and provide

homes for around 50% of all plant and animal

species16 and 80% of the world’s terrestrial

biodiversity.17 These forest ecosystems are

complex webs of organisms that include plants,

animals, fungi and bacteria – many of which are

still undiscovered.

Using renewable resources in packaging

wherever possible to begin with, and then

using the smallest quantity possible of those

resources, will have a positive impact on our

global economic stability, the quality of our

atmosphere and our planet, local habitats of

plants and animals, and biodiversity.


SUSTAINABLE SOURCING DRIVES SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY

initiatives, and should form the basis of any forest

management certification scheme. The three key

areas of attention are:

• Economic viability, including the maintenance of a sustained yield of timber and non-timber products and services

• Social responsibility, including respect for human rights as well as the rights of workers, indigenous people, and local communities

• Environmental sustainability, including maintaining the ecological functions of the forests, maintaining high conservation values, and protecting biodiversity.

Forest management certification is a voluntary

process through which an accredited body verifies

the environmental, social, and economic qualities of

a forest against agreed-upon standards, while chain

Renewable resources in packaging are only a

good alternative if they come from responsibly

managed sources, and responsible sourcing relies

on credible certification schemes. For example,

although wood is used efficiently and for many

different purposes, it can take many decades for

a tree to grow back. Land must also be carefully

managed to ensure its reliable presence as a

key variable for food security. The responsible

management of forests and land is critical to

ensure continuing benefits of trees, plants,

and food security to our local ecosystems and

communities, as well as climate regulation, air

and water filtration, prevention of erosion and

sedimentation, ensuring wildlife habitat.

Responsible forest management can vary

at an operational level because forests

differ enormously in social, economic, and

environmental characteristics around the

world. However, common principles for

responsible forest management have been

described or prescribed in a number of different


of custody certification confirms the connection

from the forest floor to the point of sale. Third-

party verified forest management and chain of

custody certification is more credible than a self-

declaration from suppliers as proof that wood

fiber came from well-managed forests.

There are a number of forest certification

schemes, including Forest Stewardship CouncilTM

(FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), and

American Tree Farm System. World Wildlife

Fund (WWF) and other leading environmental

organizations consider FSC as the only credible

forest certification system available globally given

the robust environmental and social protections it

upholds. There are also specific crop management

certifications such as Bonsucro and the Roundtable

on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Similar to that

of forest management, those certifications must

balance the need for biomass production with

the need to produce other materials, as well as

respecting workers and local communities’ rights,

and protecting local ecosystems and biodiversity.

Bonsucro, a relatively new certification scheme,

sets a global metric standard for sugarcane and is

dedicated to reducing the environmental and social

impacts of sugar cane production.

Forest Stewardship CouncilTM (FSC) in an international non-profit membership organization that was founded in 1994 by environmental and social organizations and companies to develop a market-based approach that would improve forestry practices worldwide. The three chambers of FSC—economic, environmental, and social—have equal representation and weight in the decision making process of the organization, including developing the principles, criteria, and standards for responsible forest management and chain of custody certification. FSC requirements are comprehensive, and include identifying high conservation values and maintaining or enhancing them, expanding the protection of water bodies and wetlands, ensuring compliance with international and domestic laws, upholding the legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples, and restricting pesticide use. Today FSC is operating in more than 80 countries across the globe.


As the global population continues to grow

- with its increasing demand for convenience

food and beverage products - the importance

of sustainable packaging also continues to

grow. First and foremost, sustainable packaging

needs to protect the product within. Once

this is achieved, the next question is how can

businesses design and/or adopt packaging

that can further contribute to a circular

economy, without compromising performance.

There is a tangible way to measure the

environmental performance of a package, using

a methodology called Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).

Life cycle thinking helps gain a broad and

comprehensive perspective of our products’

footprints by measuring environmental

performance at all life stages, and gaining

visibility on the variables with the highest

impact. An increasing number of companies

are adopting Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to

understand the impact of their products and

packages in each stage. By revealing the

big picture, a life cycle approach ensures

that a company doesn’t create improvement

in one area at the expense of another.18

LCAs show that using renewable materials

in packaging can provide a step change for

positive results. If the package is designed using

the minimum amount of materials possible

without compromising product protection, and

the materials used are renewable, the impact

throughout the life cycle will be improved. Chart

1 shows that when 75% of a package’s weight is

from renewable paperboard, that element of the

package only contributes 20% of the total carbon

impact throughout the package life cycle. 19

Chart 1: Co2 Impact of Paperboard

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF RENEWABILITY IN PACKAGING


The right start when developing packaging

is to use the minimum amount of materials

possible to begin with, and renewable materials

wherever possible – all without compromising

product performance. These actions will result

in improved carbon impact throughout the

life cycle of the package. After beginning in

the right way, the benefits from an efficient

renewable package can flow throughout the life

cycle.

Designing an efficient package made from

renewable resources – without compromising

product performance – is a strong way for

companies to improve carbon performance.

“We appreciate the environmental performance of cartons and feel they are an appropriate complement to our lines of high quality and organic soups, broths and non-dairy beverages. When we evaluate the entire packaging environmental footprint, we recognize the benefits of using cartons that are made primarily of renewable resources, including paper sourced from sustainably managed forests.” – Rory Schmick, Director of Sustainability and

Environmental Affairs, Pacific Natural Foods


WHY RENEWABILITY IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS

Many businesses are looking for ways to maximize

the future sustainability of packaging. For

some companies, using renewable resources in

packaging is a value statement that reinforces

their commitment to preserving the planet

for future generations. For others, the use of

renewable resources is driven by a business

need to create sustainable supply chains

for fulfilling current needs and guaranteeing

future growth. For many, it is about both.

“Right livelihood is the ethos on which we built the NextFoods company. Good for the customer, the consumer and everything we touch in the value chain. In that light, cartons made mainly of renewable materials are an obvious choice for NextFoods, as renewable resources fit in the center of what we are all about. We want to make sure that those resources are available today and tomorrow. Our customers appreciate that, and this preference for renewable-based packaging makes not only sense for the planet but also for the business.”

- Alan Murray CEO, GoodBelly/NextFoods


abundant cheap resources is coming to an end,

because finding and extracting new sources

of supply is becoming increasingly difficult

and expensive. For example, oil companies

have had to look further and drill deeper to

find smaller reserves of oil, which has doubled

the cost of a well in the past 10 years.23

And it’s not just physical reserves that control

supply, as a PricewaterhouseCoopers report

on minerals scarcity explains, but three factors

working together: physical, economic, and

geopolitical.24 Physical scarcity is linked to the

availability of resources, economic scarcity

is about pricing of resources and functioning

of markets, and geopolitical relates to policy

including trade barriers, export disruption,

and national and international conflicts.25

Continuing climate change can also be added to

the mix – which could further reduce resource

availability and commodity production due to

global policy on usage of fossil fuels. Decreasing

physical availability, economic scarcity, and

geopolitical issues all contribute to the supply of

nonrenewable resources being tenuous, at best.

Using renewable resources in packaging

isn’t just about managing costs. As a BBC

News business article on resource depletion

states, “Imagine a world of spiraling food

prices, water shortages and soaring energy

costs. For many living in the world today, this

nightmare scenario is already a reality. Even

for the well-off living in developed economies,

it is becoming all too familiar. And on current

projections, it’s going to get a whole lot worse.

Short-term fluctuations in supply and demand

aside, a global population explosion combined

with finite resources means the planet cannot

sustain ever-increasing levels of consumption

using current models of production.” 20

Over the past century, commodity prices

halved despite a fourfold increase in the

world’s population and a massive expansion

in the global economy.21 How? Due to the

discovery of new sources of cheap materials

paired with new technologies. However,

in the past 10 years, global commodity

price increases have wiped out all the price

declines in the previous century.22 The era of

“If you can save the planet and help your bottom line, then everyone should be up for it.” – Michael Okoroafor, VP of Global Packaging Innovation and Execution at Heinz Bottling Plant


“Permanent factors underpinning prices will work to keep them at higher average levels than in the past. In this environment, supply chain optimization and resilience will be necessary to respond to shocks arising from discontinuous material supplies. Businesses must be able to change inputs to production and find new ways to secure supply.”

- Global Business Policy Council 26

Renewable resources for packaging are

readily available in a physical sense, which is

important for any business, but particularly

for businesses seeking growth opportunities.

Adopting renewable resources in packaging

also means less price volatility and a more

reliable supply chain in the medium to long

term, since economic and geopolitical factors

do not play as prominent a role in the supply

of these resources. Using the smallest amount

of resources possible to adequately protect

the product, and then using renewable

resources wherever possible, will contribute

to future business sustainability and growth

opportunities. Renewability in packaging is an

important part of the solution to our future

business and resource challenges.

70% to 100%


HOW BUSINESSES CAN HELP FOSTER RENEWABILITY

Embracing and promoting renewability in

packaging is a differentiating strategy for

businesses, and can help ensure their future

business health. If companies adopt renewable

resources in packaging today, they will be

on the cutting edge of a movement that will

grow over time. For the early adopters, using

renewable packaging today will provide a brand

differentiator. When the functional and emotional

benefits of renewable packaging are realized,

and consumers feel good about a package

that can do its job and help the environment,

renewable packaging can become part of the

essence of a brand. The opportunity to create

a differentiator and increase brand equity by

using renewable packaging is only available to

companies who act now. In ten years, everyone

else will be following.

What can businesses do today to make this a

reality? The first step businesses can take is to

look closely at their own operations for renewable

packaging opportunities. This strategy will build

brand equity and help ensure long-term business

stability by not having to gamble with external

factors related to nonrenewable resources.

“Sustainability can provide a different lens for thinking, helping companies to approach situations differently – for example, thinking about supply chains through the lens of reducing suppliers’ environmental impacts.”

- GreenBiz, How Sustainability

Leadership Drives Innovation 27


Also, businesses have the opportunity to take a

leadership role in the industry and with consumers, to

educate on the importance of renewability and help

drive consistent environmental standards to assess

the impact of packaging. Some companies, such as

Coca-Cola, have started to take this position.

“When a company of Coca-Cola’s stature embraces 100% renewable packaging as it is doing, it’s a statement to others: get on board, or you will get left behind.”

- Greg Keenan, Vice President of Business

Development and Engineering, Virent 28

‘Green’ consumers are becoming more

environmentally educated, and in many cases, are

even prepared to pay more for environmentally

friendly products29 – although this is not yet

specific to renewability. As green consumers better

understand the concept of renewability, they will

embrace it and begin to put pressure on businesses

to offer renewable packaging. Once these green,

early adopters’ understanding of renewable

packaging disseminates into the mass market

of consumers, businesses will face even more

significant pressure to offer renewable packaging.

A similar example is recycling, which has not always

been at the forefront of consumers’ minds. Yet, with

decades of promotion and educational investment,

recycling has now become a “must have” for

most consumers with regards to packaging. With

business and industry leadership and education, the

same will happen with renewability. Renewability

and recycling are each key elements of the circular

economy and they both need to be understood and

adopted for it to work.

Businesses and industry can differentiate

themselves and create brand equity today by

adopting renewability in their own packaging,

looking for renewability opportunities throughout

their supply chains as part of a circular economy,

and taking a leadership role in the industry and

with consumers. Companies that embrace and

lead on renewability today will be ahead of the

game. Soon savvy green consumers will start to

understand the issues around resource scarcity,

then this knowledge will extend to the mass

market, and finally all consumers will collectively

increase the pressure on business and industry.

By acting now, business and industry can stay

ahead of those consumers’ demands for solutions.

Working together, the decisions that businesses

and consumers make now can help shape a

brighter future for our economic wellbeing, our

global communities, and our planet.


JOIN US IN LEADING A NEW MOVEMENT – TO THE FRONT

Tetra Pak has been a global packaging industry

leader in recycling from the start. Today,

recycling has become a mainstream business

practice – table stakes in the eyes of increasingly

environmentally conscious customers.

Because, we know recycling isn’t enough – and

soon our customers and consumers will expect

more too.

There are finite physical materials and natural

resources available to produce our products.

We understand and are always reliant upon

these ecosystems for our business success. Any

company considering packaging options needs

to ensure the stability and sustainability of these

natural resources in order to manage costs, hedge

against price volatility, limit trade barriers, promote

unfettered access to supply chains and more.

Therefore, without losing an inch of ground

around our current commitments, we must

now turn our attention to the front end of the

lifecycle and how materials are sourced. We

The fact that recycling has gone beyond accepted to expected invites us to address another linked and lingering business and environmental concern that is a key part of the circular economy.


must establish a new industry commitment to

renewability – protecting natural resources and

rewarding best practices and innovations that

focus on the front end that keep our industry

strong and viable in an increasingly volatile

economy. While recycling will continue to be

key part of a restorative circular economy, it is

not the only component.

Tetra Pak is doing just that and we invite our

industry partners to do the same. With this white

paper as a starting point, we are launching a

campaign – Moving To The Front – that will:

We invite you to join us in this movement and to help define how our industry

achieves these important goals. Please join us in the renewability conversation

and take part in this important dialogue. We invite you learn more about Moving

To The Front at http:www.doingwhatsgood.us/moving-to-the-front/, follow us

on Twitter @Tetrapak _NA_Eco, and visit our website at www.tetrapakusa.com.

Thank you for caring about renewability in packaging.

■ Advocate for broad acceptance of renewability practices that ensure the security of our industry and the sustainability of natural resources that we – and everyone in the world – must protect for future generations.

■ Educate our industry, customers, and consumers around the importance of renewability

■ Challenge everyone to deploy and/or help develop a new order of best practices and standards that is worthy of industry leaders in the renewability space.


A MESSAGE FROM WORLD WILDLIFE FUND

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) supports the use

of systems thinking to minimize environmental

impacts across the lifecycle of any product. To

improve the environmental performance of a

package, the net impacts of the entire system

must be addressed. WWF supports the use of

renewable materials from responsibly managed

sources as part of a holistic solution to improve

the environmental performance of packaging.

A MESSAGE FROM TETRA PAK

Tetra Pak is committed to environmental and

sustainable business practices across its operations,

products, and value chain. The company’s 2020

ambition is to maintain carbon emissions at 2010

levels, double the recycling rate of cartons, and

increase the renewable materials used in cartons

from 70% to 100%, which will continue to drive

sustainable management of our renewable resources.

This paper is a reflection of Tetra Pak’s knowledge,

which comes from the work the company has

been doing since its foundation around resource

management and use of renewable resources.


1 http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-stock-check

2 “Towards the Circular Economy, Volume 2: Opportunities for the Consumer Goods Sector,” Executive Summary, p.2

3 LCA data provided by Tetra Pak

4 “Resource Depletion: Opportunity or Looming Catastrophe?” BBC Business News, June 11, 2012

5 http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-stock-check

6 Ibid.

7 From World Bank Data: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTURBANDEVELOPMENT/0,,content

MDK:23172887~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:337178,00.html

8 http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/run-out-of-oil.htm, a Discovery company

9 “How Resource Scarcity is Driving the Third Industrial Revolution,” McKinsey

10 http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/run-out-of-oil.htm

11 “Towards the Circular Economy, Volume 2: Opportunities for the Consumer Goods Sector,” Executive Summary, p.2

12 http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/circular-economy/the-circular-model-an-overview

13 Ibid.

14 http://worldwildlife.org/habitats/forests

15 http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/

16 http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/importance/foresthabitat

17 http://worldwildlife.org/habitats/forests

18 “The Benefits of Life Cycle Analysis,” Environmental Leader, by Elisabeth Comere, March 21, 2012

19 LCA data provided by Tetra Pak

20 “Resource Depletion: Opportunity or Looming Catastrophe?” BBC Business News, June 11, 2012

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid

23 Ibid.

24 Minerals and Metals Scarcity in Manufacturing: The Ticking Time Bomb,” p. 4, PwC, December 2011

25 Ibid.

26 “Depleting Natural Resources,” Global Business Policy Council

27 Green Biz, How Sustainability Leadership Drives Innovation

28 “Making Sense of Sustainability in Packaging,” Smithers Pira White Paper, p.7

29 “How Much Will Consumers Pay to Go Green?” McKinsey Quarterly, by Mehdi Miremadi, October 2012

tetra pak renewables in-packaging white paper

Documents

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renewable resources

renewable materials

perfect package

paperboard based packaging

life cycle stage

renewable paperboard

renewable polymers