Tetra Pak Boxes Earn Their Green Stripes
By Canadian Packaging Staff
Sustainability Forest Stewardship Council Tetra PakPaperboard drink-box manufacturer Tetra Pak has received special recognition from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for selling over 100 million FSC-certified packages only one year since launching the world’s first food and liquid carton boasting the FSC Mixed Sources label—printed on each carton to indicated that all the packaging material used in the cartons come from responsibly managed forests and controlled sources.
Originally used for the Tetra Recart packages retailing at Sainsbury’s grocery stores in the U.K., the FSC labels have since been expanded to include Tetra Pak boxes sold in Italy, Denmark, Brazil and the U.S., as well as to other packages such as the Tetra Brik Aseptic.
With several Tetra Pak paperboard suppliers already having achieved the relevant FSC chain-of-custody certification, the company expects continued growth in the marketing of FSC-labeled boxes this year—keeping it on target to source paperboard only from chain-of-custody certified board mills by 2015, while also certifying the chain of custody of all its own converting and printing plants worldwide by 2018.
“Tetra Pak’s pledge to certify all of its production sites worldwide indicates that the potential expansion of certified material is promising,” says FSC executive director Andre de Freitas, noting that some of Tetra Pak’s converting plants in selected markets have already completed the certification of the entire supply chain from the forest to the supermarket shelves.
“The main raw material we use is paper,” adds Tetra Pak’s forestry and recycling director Mario Abreu.
“We believe that the sustainable use of renewable resources like wood fibers is of utmost importance and we want to convey this message to consumers in the clearest possible way.
“Today, FSC certification is the best proof of sustainable forestry,” Abreu states. “That’s why our ultimate goal is to have all the paper in our packaging certified to the highest standards, which are currently set by FSC.”
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