Tetra Pak has launched its ‘Approach to Nature’ framework that vividly outlines the company’s contribution to halting and reversing nature loss and improving water security.
This comes ahead of the United Nation’s International Day of Biodiversity slated for May 22.
The approach by Tetra Pak aligns with global targets, including those outlined in the Biodiversity Plan calling for action to put nature on a recovery path to benefit all life on earth.
An Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report shows an unprecedented nature decline mainly owing to human activity.
Global food systems have been identified as the main drivers of loss of nature, with far-reaching implications that threaten global economies, livelihoods and food security.
The ambitious new framework unveiled by Tetra Pak seeks to deal with the impacts of the global company’s value chain on nature and to support the restoration of ecosystems.
The approach also aims to contribute to global water resilience by taming negative impacts on local water resources and tackling shared water challenges in basins at risk.
To further accelerate its actions on nature, Tetra Pak says it will incorporate all its businesses, suppliers, and customers in all the regions it is operating in across the globe.
Some of the 25 targets Tetra Pak has set include:
- By 2025, 100 per cent of its raw materials with the most significant land footprint will originate from certified or controlled sources.
- By 2025, 100 per cent of Tetra Pak high-water-impact suppliers8 will report on water use and quality.
- Eradicate waste-to-landfill from Tetra Pak production sites by 2030.
- Achieve a 50 per cent reduction of water use in best practice processing lines by 2030 compared to 2019.
Tetra Pak Vice President Climate & Biodiversity, Gilles Tisserand, has called on other companies to join it to help protect and restore nature for the benefit of the next generations.
“With over half of the world’s GDP heavily reliant on nature, the stakes could not be higher,” stated Tisserand.
He added: “Our ‘Approach to Nature’ not only reflects our commitment to environmental stewardship but also builds on our longstanding action in this domain, cemented by our inclusion in the 2023 CDP Forests A List for the eighth consecutive year and the achievement of an A- in Water Security for our first year of reporting.”
In 2022, Tetra Pak signed the Business for Nature Coalition’s COP15 business statement, urging governments to adopt the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s Target 15.
Target 15 requires large private firms and financial institutions to assess and disclose their risks, dependencies, and impacts on biodiversity, provide information to consumers to promote sustainable consumption and report on compliance.
Tetra Pak CEO, Business for Nature, Eva Zabey, noted that the framework is a milestone for the company and urged corporates to back the ambitious targets set in the Biodiversity Plan.
“We encourage all companies to set a nature strategy – a clear plan for how they will contribute towards a nature-positive future by 2030,” Zabey indicated.
He added: “However, businesses can’t achieve this alone; governments must create the right incentives to speed up corporate action to address nature loss.”
