We take a holistic approach when it comes to circularity, from design to end-of-life.
The big picture
Human consumption of materials is escalating at an unsustainable rate, with the World Bank estimating that annual global waste1 is set to grow by 73% by 2050.2 The world urgently needs to move to new models and move towards a circular economy where materials are not wasted and nature is regenerated.3
Packaging plays a vital role in protecting perishable food and furthering access to the world’s growing population. But not all packages are equal when it comes to environmental impact. For example, carton packages are primarily paper-based, and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) consistently score them better from a climate-related perspective than fossil fuel-based options, such as plastic.4
It is also important to retain value and keep material in circulation for as long as possible. This means considering recyclability from the very start and working to maximise retained value. It is equally critical that formal and optimised collection and recycling infrastructures are available to ensure that recyclable products and packages have the best chance of staying in the loop as intended. Recycling rates are highest in the countries where formal collection and recycling infrastructure exist and are supported by legislation and policy. In countries with less developed waste management infrastructure and policies, waste collection models are often informal, which presents additional challenges. Diversified market strategies and high levels of collaboration are urgently needed to unlock the promise of a self-sustaining recycling value chain.
Material topics
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| Design & materials of packaging | Collection & recycling of carton packages | Design, materials & lifespan of equipment | Waste in our operations |
Our progress
1 The World Bank defines global waste as the total amount of solid waste generated by human activities.
2 World Bank. (2025). “What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050.” Retrieved from World Bank https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/brief/solid-waste-management.
3 Circular Economy Introduction, 2022. Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview.
4 Meta Study of Life Cycle Assessment of Tetra Pak® cartons and alternative packaging systems for beverages based on selected studies of the European market (IFEU, 2021). Based on this European meta-study synthesising the results of 16 country-level studies, beverage cartons consistently showcased lower climate impacts than all the analysed alternatives, across dairy, juice, nectar, and still drink (JNSD) packaging, 2021. Source: Circular Analytics meta-analysis of life cycle assessment studies, https://fbcaglobal.com/storage/files/20-011-circular-analytics-ace-full-report-2021-03-11.pdf.
5 Source: Forest Stewardship Council, https://fsc.org/en.
6 Source: Bonsucro, https://bonsucro.com/.
7 The scope only covers waste that is legally possible to manage without sending to landfill or to incineration without energy recovery. In many places, the local regulations require for example that hazardous waste be sent to landfill or to incineration without energy recovery. This waste is then not in scope for the ‘Zero waste to landfill’ target.
8 This does not reflect a physical share of recycled polyethylene in each individual package.
9 Mass balance approach: A certified method used to calculate recycled content based on the amount of recycled material used in production.
10 For the reported used beverage cartons collected for recycling we use, where available, official publicly available data from renowned sources such as governmental agencies, registered recovery organisations, nationwide industry associations, NGOs etc. reported on a regular basis using a consistent approach. For markets where such official data is not available, volumes of used beverage cartons collected for recycling are estimated based on internal data.