We must work together to halt and reverse nature loss.
The big picture
Nature is deteriorating at rates unprecedented in human history due to human activity1. Around one million species face extinction, with current extinction rates causing scientists to declare a ‘sixth mass extinction’ underway2.
Many essential services nature provides are now at risk, with significant negative impacts on ecosystems and human wellbeing3. One of the services at risk is the regulation of freshwater quantity and quality, which is decreasing access to clean water around the world4. The impacts of nature loss are wide-reaching and threaten the foundations of our global economies, livelihoods, and food systems5,6.
The most significant driver of nature loss is the change in the use of land and seas, including the conversion of natural areas to agriculture and urban areas. Nature loss is also driven by unsustainable levels of extraction of natural resources, pollution, climate change, and the introduction of invasive species7.
Countries around the world are recognising the urgency of addressing nature loss. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), also known as the Biodiversity Plan, was adopted in 2023. It calls for countries to take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and put nature on a path to recovery by 2030.
Requirements related to nature-related impacts, risks and opportunities are guided by regulatory developments such as the EU Deforestation Regulation on Products (EUDR), as well as voluntary initiatives such as the Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Material topics
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| Biodiversity and ecosystems | Water management | Pollution to air and water |
The challenge of nature loss
As a leading food processing technology and packaging solutions company, Tetra Pak’s value chain is highly dependent on nature and the services it provides, and is therefore at risk due to nature loss. We have a responsibility to take action for nature, and so we have conducted a detailed assessment to identify the impacts and dependencies of our own operations and value chain.
Using this information, we developed our comprehensive Approach to Nature, a pioneering framework with 20 measurable targets, guiding our actions to halt and reverse nature loss, restore ecosystems, and enhance global water security, in alignment with international biodiversity goals.
The four pillars of our Approach to Nature
This includes everything related to the goods and services that we purchase. Our assessments show that sourcing raw materials – particularly paperboard, other packaging materials, polymers, and aluminium foil – has the most significant negative impacts on nature, which are closely connected to human rights impacts. A key target is therefore to source 100% of our raw materials with the most significant land footprint from certified or controlled suppliers and ensure traceability to the point of production.
This covers all activities and sites under our control. On the one hand, this is an area where assessments found that the impacts on nature are lower than that of the upstream of our value chain. On the other hand, this is also part of the value chain which we can influence directly.
This deals with activities related to the sale, use, and end-of-life of Tetra Pak's products and services. Our work here includes research and development to improve the design and performance of our products. It also includes engagement with our customers to manage the impacts of their operations. Finally, we work to improve collection and recycling to reduce the negative nature impacts of used beverage cartons and to increase the circularity of materials while also supporting the important role of informal waste collection workers.
Going beyond our immediate value chain, this covers actions that contribute to the transformative change required to tackle the fundamental drivers of nature loss, as set out by the Global Biodiversity Plan. Our work in this area includes advocating for strong policies to halt and reverse nature loss. We are also involved in efforts to improve voluntary standards and initiatives, and we invest in the restoration of landscapes adjacent to our production areas.
Tetra Pak approach to nature
To realise our ambitions, each of the four pillars in the Tetra Pak Approach to Nature is defined by concrete areas for action. These action areas, in turn, are supported by quantitative targets that enable us to measure our progress.
Materiality and interconnected impacts
While the primary lens is nature, with a particular emphasis on addressing the drivers of nature loss that are relevant for our value chain, the framework is also closely linked with our efforts on climate, circularity, social sustainability and food systems.
The frameworks and tools for companies to assess and address their impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities related to nature are constantly evolving. We follow this progress closely, updating our assessment and approach accordingly. However, given the urgency to halt and restore nature loss, we believe it is important that companies such as ours implement targets and actions urgently, based on the best information currently available, while ensuring respect for human rights.
Reflecting insights gained over its rollout, we have now made focused updates to the framework to prioritise areas where it can deliver the greatest results. This has shaped a more targeted approach, directing resources towards high impact materials, locations and supplier sites, with clearer expectations for traceability, verification and measurable outcomes.
Our Approach to Nature will continue to be structured around four key, value chain-wide action areas – Upstream, Operations, Downstream and Transform – with a strengthened emphasis on upstream activities, where the company’s most significant nature impacts and dependencies occur. This includes targeted revisions to selected goals, such as using geographic information systems to verify the deforestation-free status of high-priority sourcing locations and reducing total water withdrawal by 10% by 2030 at suppliers with the highest water-related impacts.
Our progress
1 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Source: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019. Source IPBES, https://files.ipbes.net/ipbes-web-prod-public-files/inline/files/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers.pdf.
2 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Source: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019. Source IPBES, https://files.ipbes.net/ipbes-web-prod-public-files/inline/files/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers.pdf.
3 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Source: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019. Source IPBES, https://files.ipbes.net/ipbes-web-prod-public-files/inline/files/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers.pdf.
4 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Source: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019. Source IPBES, https://files.ipbes.net/ipbes-web-prod-public-files/inline/files/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers.pdf.
5 Herweijer, C., et al. "Nature risk rising: Why the crisis engulfing nature matters for business and the economy." , 2020. Source: World Economic Forum and PwC. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_ Economy_Report_2020.pdf.
6 The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture', J. Bélanger & D. Pilling (eds.). FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Assessments. Rome, 2019. Source: FAO, 572 pp.
7 Herweijer, C., et al. "Nature risk rising: Why the crisis engulfing nature matters for business and the economy." , 2020. Source: World Economic Forum and PwC. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_ Economy_Report_2020.pdf.
8 At-risk basins are identified using the SBTN methodology, based on eight different indicators across water quantity, quality and wash. For each indicator, a score between 1 and 5 is attributed. Within these three categories, one indicator with a score of 3 or above indicates that the basin is at risk.