Over 1.5 billion Tetra Pak Cartons to Go FSC

This development is a first in Europe, where a major liquid food and drink packaging manufacturer is able to launch such a wide-scale roll out. It means iconic household milk, juice and liquid food brands will be able to sport the FSC logo.

23 Oct 2009 --- Tetra Pak has that many of its UK and Irish customers will now be able to use the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label across the nation’s favourite brands. The majority of Tetra Pak cartons in the UK and Ireland can now use paperboard sourced from FSC certified forests and other controlled sources, demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to responsible forest management.

This development is a first in Europe, where a major liquid food and drink packaging manufacturer is able to launch such a wide-scale roll out. It means iconic household milk, juice and liquid food brands will be able to sport the FSC logo across many, if not all, of their packs within the next 12 months. Brands such as Princes, Ribena, Rubicon, Moo and many retail own label products packed in Tetra Pak cartons will be included.

The move comes as part of the company’s ongoing drive to attain certified traceability from forest to consumer according to the highest available standard, FSC, and builds upon their successful launch of a FSC-certified Tetra Recart range for Sainsbury’s chopped tomatoes, in late 2007. This led to the subsequent move of the Sainsbury’s SO Organic pulses range into Tetra Recart as well. Earlier this year also saw Innocent launching FSC across all its kids smoothie packs in Tetra Wedge Aseptic.

This development will see supply increase from 200 million FSC-certified packs available globally in 2008, to over 1.5 billion packs, in the UK & Ireland alone. All the European mills supplying Tetra Pak’s paperboard have FSC Chain of Custody certification in place, demonstrating traceability and acceptability of the board used.

Said Nils Björkman, Tetra Pak Executive Vice President Commercial Operations: “We have an ongoing commitment to the highest standards of forest management and are thrilled to be able to achieve the highest standard of certification for the majority of our UK and Irish cartons. We know a sustainable approach to business is of critical value to retailers, brands and consumers, and FSC certification demonstrates our commitment to manufacturing to the highest level of environmental performance.”

Said Julia Young, WWF-UK: "We applaud Tetra Pak's comprehensive commitment to move their cartons to FSC sourced materials. This is a positive step to make sure that every-day consumption is reducing its impact on the forests of the world, and supporting a more sustainable pattern to the way we lead our lives. I hope this initiative continues to grow, as Tetra Pak innovate in the market"

Graham Breed, marketing director for Princes soft drinks, said: "As the UK's leading ambient pure juice brand Princes is committed to working in partnership with suppliers to help protect natural resources for the future. We welcome the adoption of the FSC standard by Tetra Pak as a positive step."

Made largely renewable, natural resource - wood - the move further enhances the environmental credentials of the pack. Tetra Pak is a member of the WWF Climate Savers Programme and is on track to achieve its global commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 10% by 2010 while continuing to grow. Tetra Pak is also committed to increasing the recycling of its cartons, which can be used as raw material for other products. In 2008 25.6 billion cartons were recycled, up 64% since 2002. Over the next year, 75% of the cartons made by Tetra Pak for the UK & Ireland will become FSC-certified.