Carton CO2 Footprint

We get many questions about the Carbon or CO2 footprint of our packages. However, we produce many different package types that are filled and sold by many different players in many different locations around the world; each combination generating its own unique CO2 footprint. The end-of-life impact also varies from case to case depending on local conditions; the availability and nature of collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure; as well as on the choices made by the end consumer. To generate life cycle specific footprints for each of these permutations would be an all but impossible task.

Furthermore there is today, no commonly accepted, or standard, way to calculate or present a 'carbon footprint'. The package CO2 footprint will therefore also depend on where we draw the boundaries i.e. on what we include in the calculation. For example, one could include only the production of the packaging materials used to form the package and the opening to give a ‘Cradle-to-Gate Footprint’ for the production of the packaging material. Or, at the other extreme, one could include all the operations through converting, filling, distribution and retail to recovery, recycling and final disposal to complete a full life cycle footprint.

To illustrate the climate impact of an aseptic beverage carton across the life cycle we have produced a life cycle CO2 profile for a typical 1 litre Tetra Brik Aseptic.

To meet the interest in package specific CO2 footprint data we have developed a calculator tool which generates Cradle-to-Gate CO2 profiles for a number of different cartons.

We have used our best endeavours to produce reliable and representative figures based on a life cycle approach. As with all life cycle work results can vary depending on the precise scope of the study, the methodological choices made and the underlying data used.