November 12, 2021
How we’re innovating towards the world’s most sustainable food package
Packaging helps keep food safe, nutritious and available, but most of the food packaging used today is made of fossil-based virgin plastic, which has a significant carbon footprint. That’s why we’re on a journey at Tetra Pak to create the world’s most sustainable food package, fully renewable and fully recyclable.
Our founder, Ruben Rausing, left us with a phrase that I like very much: A package should save more than it costs. And I think that rings truer today than it ever has. Because we need to protect not just the product inside, but also ensure that the package we produce has the absolute smallest impact possible on our environment.
Making food packaging sustainable and transitioning towards a low-carbon circular economy is an enormous, transformational challenge for our industry. Luckily, Tetra Pak is built on 70 years of innovation. It’s how we approach every challenge we face, and it will also be key to creating the world’s most sustainable food package.
Consumers are pushing for sustainable change
I believe the packaging industry has a fantastic opportunity right now because consumers are so interested in sustainable products and actively pushing for innovative solutions. That’s driving us and telling us that all the investments we’ve made over the last decade in new technologies, know-how and knowledge have been worth it. It’s creating a huge pull through the value chain and driving a complete transformation of the packaging industry, which is very exciting.
“I believe the packaging industry has a fantastic opportunity right now because consumers are so interested in sustainable products and actively pushing for innovative solutions.”
We are already well on our way, but pushing on towards the finish line requires innovation and collaboration. Innovation by attracting the right talent to develop the right products so we can make sure we can deliver the world’s most sustainable package. And collaboration across the full value chain, working closely together with our partners and customers to deliver on consumer demands.
New ideas and new ways of working
There are still a number of challenges in our industry and we have to turn to the latest technologies to provide new and different types of packaging. And it requires that we work in different ways with new mindsets. That’s why we need new skills and capabilities – a huge range of engineering and science skills from mechanical engineers, automation engineers, microbiologists, regulatory specialists and many more.
We’re working in a very competitive marketplace and finding these skills is challenging. The packaging industry has maybe not always been the most attractive to new talent, but I feel that’s changing. People see that there are fantastic opportunities to be part of changing the planet. They want to make a difference in terms of delivering innovative and sustainable products and solutions.
I believe we are in a good place today because we’ve been investing in academia, technical know-how, capabilities and competencies for many years. We try to predict the upcoming needs, challenges and problems we’re going to face, and that means we’ve been investing in our journey towards the world’s most sustainable food package for more than a decade now. I can see that that is giving us an advantage now. We’re in a position where we’re able to develop the material, the filling equipment, the processing equipment and the distribution systems simultaneously as we move through the development process.
“We’ve been investing in our journey towards the world’s most sustainable food package for more than a decade now. I can see that that is giving us an advantage now.”
Collaboration is key
But we cannot do it alone. The old notion of a linear supply is gone. We need to work in very close partnerships with our development partners and customers and I believe we can take our collaboration to the next level by bringing on board more and more partners in what we could call a kind of development ecosystem.
We’ve already done that with our traditional supply chain, and we’ve brought in start-ups and companies that have helped us with some fantastically innovative ideas. We need to continue to have strong communication and dialogues with our customers and brands because at the end of the day, they’re the ones who serve the products to the consumers.
The trick with sustainability is not just producing a small number of sustainable packages. You have to be able to produce them at scale. It’s possible to make prototype packages that are completely sustainable, but you have to make the packaging safe. If you can’t scale it up, you can’t minimise food waste and you can’t serve a global population.
“The trick with sustainability is not just producing a small number of sustainable packages. You have to be able to produce them at scale.”
To achieve a sustainable future for food packaging, a full value chain approach to circularity is needed. Only by addressing the interconnected nature of the environmental, societal, and economic challenges we face, can we deliver a fully renewable and fully recyclable package. While we have already made great progress in developing our low-carbon circular portfolio, our current innovation journey is truly transformational as we work towards our vision of the ideal beverage carton: a fully renewable and recyclable package. If we all work together we can deliver better products for a sustainable tomorrow.
Four areas of focus towards the world’s most sustainable food package
With our four focus areas we aim to enable the use of renewable materials, maximise the value of recycled material, minimise littering and make sure the package of the future is designed for recycling.
1. Increase the use of responsibly sourced, renewable materials
Carton packages already contain a high share of paperboard (70% on average). Using renewable materials can help reduce the carbon footprint of packaging, by minimising the need for fossil-based materials. All paperboard used in our cartons comes from FSC™-certified forests and other controlled sources.
We are also increasing the use of plant-based polymers. In 2024, plant-based polymers represented ~8 % of the total polymers we purchased, contributing to reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared with using an equivalent amount of fossil-based polymers5.
2. Use more recycled materials
Recycled content supports the development of the circular economy by reducing the consumption of fossil-based polymers and incentivising recycling by providing an end market for recycled materials. We have introduced certified recycled plastic content, for the caps, tops and/or coatings on selected carton packages. These materials are sourced according to the ISCC mass balance method.
In 2024 the share of certified recycled polymers we purchased in the EU increased by ~40% compared to 2023.6
3. Future-proof openings to prevent litter
In 2021, ahead of the legal obligation in Europe, we introduced tethered caps that remain attached throughout use. This helps to prevent littering and support recycling by keeping all the components connected, preventing any part from ending up on the street or in a waterway where it can harm fish or other aquatic life.
Tethered caps are available in plant-based versions or using certified recycled polymers.
At the same time, we have also expanded our paper straw offering to ensure further renewable and low-carbon materials across our range of packaging solutions.
4. Design for recycling
We continue researching solutions to simplify the packaging material structure of our beverage cartons. Replacing the aluminium foil layer in aseptic cartons with a paper-based barrier is an important step towards the world's most sustainable food package and a critical marker in our longstanding work to design beverage cartons for recycling, an approach we have adopted with industry partners to help increase the recycling value of food and beverage cartons.
Looking ahead
The progress we see today gives me confidence that we are moving in a positive direction.
“Progress happens step by step, and each step brings us closer to packaging that supports both food and the planet.”
1 & 3 By this we mean a carton package which is paper-based, with the lowest possible carbon footprint, made solely from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials, and fully recyclable. This means 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 low carbon production and distribution; are convenient and safe, therefore helping to enable a resilient food system; and are fully recyclable.
2 ifeu 2020, “Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Tetra Pak® carton packages and alternative packaging systems for beverages and liquid food on the European market.”
4 Tetra Pak® Sustainable Packaging Consumer Research 2025, comprising a total of 12,500+ consumer interviews based on an online questionnaire in 25 countries.
5 Based on climate accounting internal calculations (volume x emission factor) considering 56.9 kilo tonnes of plant-based plastic purchased in 2024. To calculate the avoided emissions number, we use a third-party emission factor for the plant-based polymers from public available lifecycle assessment by Braskem. Source: PE-Im-green-bio-based-LCA-Results-SUMMARY-ENG.pdf
6 Progress against this target is measured based on the share of ISCC+ certified recycled polymers used at European sites.
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