Responsible sourcing

Helping to protect the planet’s resources

Responsible sourcing is one of the key areas we work to address the impacts of our value chain on nature. We work with our supply chain to improve the traceability and transparency of sourcing, by building on our certified chains of custody and membership of voluntary sustainability standards.

Why responsible sourcing matters

Society relies on materials from finite resources or materials produced using fossil fuels that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and negatively impact nature. When materials are not sourced responsibly, it can contribute to deforestation, pollution, soil erosion and other environmental issues, contributing to the climate crisis. That’s why it’s essential we manage resource use responsibly and take ethics, labour rights, and social and environmental issues into consideration when sourcing raw materials and services worldwide.

 

Our products rely on raw materials from forests, farmlands, mining areas and more. And consuming these resources comes with responsibility. Our responsible sourcing practices – such as sourcing materials from sustainably managed forests1 or suppliers of recycled materials – are embedded in our company strategy and implemented across our supply chain.

Plant sourcing

Pioneering and innovating in responsible sourcing

As a first mover in responsible sourcing, we were the first in the food industry to produce a paper-based package made fully from plant-based renewable materials2 and achieve certification standards from the Forest Stewardship Council™ and Bonsucro.

Other recognition of our work includes being awarded, for the seventh year, an ‘A’ from CDP Forests Disclosure, which assesses our progress in measuring and managing forest-related risks and opportunities.

 

Looking ahead to 2030, we’re implementing ambitious targets for responsible sourcing as part of our commitment to biodiversity, nature and social sustainability.

CDP A forest A list company

Monitoring suppliers on responsible sourcing

It’s essential to work closely with our supply chains to ensure materials are sourced responsibly. Our suppliers worldwide are required to comply with our Supplier Code, which we monitor via a Responsible Sourcing Assurance System and Supplier Engagement procedures.

We are participating in an EU Horizon 2020-funded project 'Landgriffon' which uses satellite data and image-processing algorithms to support sustainable sourcing decision-making.

Certified renewable materials

When sourcing renewable materials, we use voluntary certification standards such as the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™)3 and Bonsucro. All our suppliers, and our facilities, are certified with FSC™ Chain of Custody certification to guarantee that the paperboard in our packages comes from FSC™ certified forests or other controlled sources.4

 

All our plant-based polymers made from sugarcane – used in plastic layers and caps in our packages - have now reached 100% Bonsucro-certified volumes.

Responsibly sourced materials

The view of a forest

Polymers

Our paper-based carton packages come with plant based polymer layers, caps, closures and straws. When responsibly sourced, plant-based polymers are a renewable material.

A tree seen from frog perspective

Paperboard

On average, the paperboard content of our beverage cartons is more than 70%. When responsibly sourced, paperboard is a renewable resource that can, result in a lower carbon footprint than glass, plastic or metal packages.

close-up of an aluminum roll

Aluminium

Aluminium foil layer thinner than human hair prevents oxidation and light damage, helping to reduce food waste by extending the shelf-life of food without refrigeration.

Our strategic ambitions and 2030 targets

• Continue contributing to protecting nature through responsible sourcing and strategic collaborations that conserve and restore biodiversity, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and contribute to global water resilience.
• Achieve credible sustainability certification and third-party verification of renewable polymers and their feedstock (currently, 100% of the plant-based plastics used in our products is made from sustainably sourced sugarcane certified by Bonsucro).

• Work towards full product traceability5 through the entire food processing and packaging value chain.
• Production of raw materials should not cause deforestation6.
• No sourcing of raw materials from high conservation areas7.
• Achieve net-zero GHG emissions in our operations (scopes 1 and 2 and business travel) and 46% GHG reduction across our value chain8 in line with 1.5°C SBTi commitment compared to our 2019 baseline.

1For Tetra Pak, the key areas of attention for sustainable forest management are a) economic viability including the maintenance of a sustained yield of timber and non-timber products and services; b) social responsibility including respect for human rights including the rights of workers, indigenous peoples, and local communities. This includes adherence to the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent when activities affect indigenous and local communities; c) environmental sustainability including no deforestation, maintaining the ecological functions of the forests, maintaining High Conservation Values (HCV) and conserving biodiversity.

2This refers to creating cartons that are fully made of renewable or recycled materials, that are responsibly sourced, thereby helping to protect and restore our planet's climate, resources and biodiversity; contributing towards carbon-neutral production and distribution; are convenient and safe, therefore helping to enable a resilient food system; and are fully recyclable.

3The FSC license code for Tetra Pak is FSC™ C014047.

4Controlled sources are FSC-controlled wood. This wood originates from low-risk sources which exclude illegally harvested wood, wood harvested in violation of traditional and human rights, wood harvested in forests in which high conservation values are threatened by management activities, wood harvested in forests being converted to plantations or non-forest use and wood from forests in which genetically modified trees are planted. Controlled wood can make up a maximum of 30% of FSC MIX-certified wood fibre. More information: https://fsc.org/en/fsc-mix-label-and-controlled-wood.

5The concept of traceability refers to the tracking of a product throughout its production, processing and distribution phases, from the procurement of the raw materials for its manufacture until it reaches the end customer.

6Tetra Pak ensures that wood fibre in the paperboard shall not originate from areas where there has been deforestation after 31 December 2020. Deforestation-free areas are areas where there has been no loss of natural forest because of i) conversion to agriculture or other non-forest land use; ii) conversion to a tree plantation; or iii) severe and sustained degradation. Source: https://www.tetrapak.com/content/dam/tetrapak/publicweb/gb/en/sustainability/Tetra-Pak-Procedure-Responsible-Sourcing-Liquid-Packaging-Board-2023.pdf

7HVC (High Conservation Value) areas feature biological, ecological, social, or cultural values of outstanding significance at a national, regional, or global level or of critical importance at local level.

8Defined as achieving net-zero GHG emissions in our operations (scopes 1 and 2 and business travel) and 46% GHG reduction across our value chain in line with 1.5°C SBTi commitment compared to our 2019 baseline.