Going net zero by 2030
We are committed to reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our own operations by 2030. Lowering energy-related emissions is key to our carbon reduction strategy. We are doing that through energy conservation, improvements in energy efficiency, installing on-site solar photovoltaics (solar PV) and purchasing renewable energy.
Energy efficiency
Our total energy use has been kept relatively flat in recent years. It has grown by just 2% since 2010, despite significant increases in production and the addition of new facilities, thanks to improvements in energy efficiency. Our energy audit programme is a major contributor to this increased efficiency, realising total energy savings of 345-gigawatt hours since 2010, and avoiding what would otherwise have been a growth in energy use of 23 %.
Towards 100 percent renewable electricity
Since 2011, we have installed approximately 3 MW of solar PV, delivering low carbon electricity whilst saving operational costs.
In addition, we have set an ambitious target to source 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030, through a public commitment to RE100. Through sourcing and generating renewable electricity Tetra Pak has an opportunity to help spur the transition to a low carbon circular economy in many of the geographically diverse countries in which we operate.
In 2019, renewable electricity use across our operations increased from 55% in 2018 to 69%. We are on track to meet our RE100 targets of 80% by 2020 and 100% by 2030. All of our converting factories within the EU are already now using 100% renewable electricity.
World Class Manufacturing
In 2019, we celebrated 20 years of World Class Manufacturing (WCM), a systematic approach to reducing waste, minimising water loss, improving efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Applied across all our operations, it has led to a 62% reduction in total waste and a threefold increase in productivity since 1999.
Today, we are considered a world leader in WCM. In 2019, our factories in Hohhot, China and Lahore, Pakistan (the factory team is pictured above, with their Tetra Pak 2019 Factory of the Year award) were awarded the highest level of the prestigious Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) awards by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance.
This World Class award is presented to facilities that have achieved outstanding levels of production quality, reliability, efficiency and environmental performance. It is the first time it has ever been awarded to any factory in China or Pakistan.
This is the third time in five years that our facilities have received a World Class award, following the successes of our Gornji Milanovac, Serbia factory and the Izmir, Turkey factory in 2015 and 2017 respectively. Only 24 plants in the world have achieved World Class status: our facilities represent a sixth of this total. Out of the 30 Tetra Pak packaging material factories currently in operation worldwide, 27 have received one or more TPM awards.
Green buildings
In addition to our production processes, the quality of our buildings makes a significant difference to the sustainability of our operations. In all new projects and major fit-outs, where possible, we now aim for Gold level certification from LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a leading international certification standard. Even when we choose a small office, sustainability and accreditation of the building is a key deciding factor.