Our planet is facing exponentially growing threats. More than 800 million people are vulnerable to climate change; the last five years have been the hottest in recorded history and sea levels are rising at alarming rates. Forests are shrinking at the equivalent of 30 football pitches per minute, and staggering percentages of the Earth’s land have been degraded, as our global wildlife populations dwindle. 733 million individuals live in high and critically water-stressed countries, whereas 2.3 billion live in water-stressed nations. 90% of our global population breathes polluted air—the most important health issue of our times. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say we are in the midst of a climate emergency.
On the occasion of Earth Day, the following are the edited transcripts of a recent conversation with Awais Bin Nasim, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Pakistan, talking about the significance of sustainability and recycling.
- Can businesses satisfy their shareholders, consumers, and the planet so it is a win-win for all?
The connection between social progress and economic success is becoming increasingly clear. Given our current situation with climate change and its associated factors threatening our planet’s natural ecosystem, everyone has a collective responsibility to plan their business operations in the most responsible and sustainable ways. Looking at the business agenda through the lens of creating shared value and planning it in a way that also yields benefits for the society and environment has become imperative for companies and organizations around the world.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out, “…a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future,” through 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) calling for global partnership. The key to actualizing these goals, and bringing the necessary ambitions behind them to fruition, may lie in understanding circularity—a framework directed by eliminating waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use and regenerating natural systems.
- Talk about how various stakeholders are embracing the concept of sustainability and what needs to be done?
Without a thorough understanding of sustainability and the practices mandatory for today’s environment, individual efforts will fall short. The responsibility for arresting the decline and reversing our negative impact on the environment lies with all stakeholders: governments, NGOs, individuals and, not least, the corporate sector.
Sustainability rests at the heart of Tetra Pak’s business strategy and operations. In many ways, we can proudly claim to be a benchmark of how the concept of sustainability should be embraced and embedded to implement a responsible and scalable business model. The concept of sustainability is embodied in our brand promise – Protects What’s Good – which is realized by protecting food, people, and the planet. All three areas are encompassed in our sustainability activities. We work with our customers and partners to make food safe and available, everywhere through our innovative and market-leading food processing and packaging solutions. We constantly strive towards safeguarding our employees and supporting communities where we operate and protecting the future of our planet and the long-term success of our customers.
- Being a global leader, in what ways is Tetra Pak driving its sustainability agenda to secure the interest of the planet?
Tetra Pak has imbibed the principles of sustainability in its business vision and is driving it in the following ways:
A. Responsible sourcing
Slapping a cosmetic sustainability band-aid at the end of a supply chain riddled with gaping holes can never be a truly effective solution. Vitally, Tetra Pak influences and monitors the social and environmental impact of its global supply chains. This means decisions are driven by a holistic understanding of ethics, labour rights and the social and environmental tapestry embedded in our operations—not cost, quality, and delivery time alone. For example, 70% of Tetra Pak cartons are paperboard—additives like ink and pigment constitute less than 1% of the package weight—and plant-based polymers contribute to packaging using a high degree of renewable resources.
B. Environmental impact
Advancements in impact transparency and measurement have revealed many lofty achievements touted throughout the corporate space to be little more than a glittering mirage. Climate performance must be measured across a company’s entire value chain, as Tetra Pak does, such as by working with suppliers to protect biodiversity and maintain freshwater availability in agricultural and forest supply chains. Our commitment to reaching net-zero in our operations by 2030 is paired with an equally important goal to reach the same for the entire value chain by 2050.
C. Post-consumer recycling
Academic research from 2020 posits that globally, “More than half of the Tetra Pak packaging ends up in the landfills due to the complicated disposal that requires special processing plants.” It’s a sobering statistic, as recycled cellulose or cellulose-based waste products are a leading sustainable building material. Tetra Pak prevents packaging leakage into the environment by partnering with multiple stakeholders to drive collection and recycling—key enablers of low-carbon circularity. In Pakistan, Tetra Pak went into a partnership agreement with Green Earth Recycling in Lahore in 2014 and since then has been successfully achieving increasing recycling targets every year. In 2021, Tetra Pak Pakistan achieved a recycling rate of over 42% for its produced cartons. The goal for 2022 is to increase this volume and recycle around 32,000 tonnes of beverage cartons. More details about this partnership can be viewed through the following video.
D. Circular Economy
Finally, we have redesigned our packaging through a circular lens, optimizing the entire value chain for minimum climate impact. This entails increasing recycled plastic content in beverage cartons, relying on fossil-free, renewable energy for operations and slashing operational greenhouse emissions.
In essence, Tetra Pak as a product lives out the ideals of designing out food waste. With the motto, “Protect what’s good”, keeping food safe and available everywhere is our founding principle. So whether it’s through initiatives spanning the entire supply chain, responsible governance, emphasis on recycling or the product itself, we are proud of the fact that are creating benchmarks that hopefully one day, many more will follow. Our planet depends on it.
