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Tetra Pak has called on EU policy makers and the packaging industry to take concerted action to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions.

"Packaging has a key role to play in supporting moves towards a low carbon economy, as do European policy-makers in creating the right framework for effective business and consumer action," said Tetra Pak Environment Director Erika Mink, speaking at a conference hosted at the European Commission.

"We need internationally agreed rules and scientifically robust standards for determining the carbon footprint of a given package or product in order to create the right policy support for business action and consumer behaviour," said Mink.

Meglena Kuneva, the European Commissioner for EU consumer policy, opened the conference on "A Low Carbon Future: Releasing the Potential for Business," which was co-sponsored by Tetra Pak and the British Retail Consortium. Highlighting the 25 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent saved by the packaging sector in the last decade, Mink, said: "We believe the packaging sector has the potential to make further contributions to CO2 reduction by a combination of company commitments, voluntary agreements, and partnering with key stakeholders."

As part of WWF’s Climate Savers’ Programme, Tetra Pak has committed to reduce its CO2 emissions between 2005 and 2010 by 40,000 tons world-wide, or 10% in absolute terms. Tetra Pak is also a partner of the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign supported by the Commission.

A second priority for Tetra Pak is to use a maximum of renewable materials in its packages, a practice which further mitigates CO2 impact. Already an average 75 percent of Tetra Pak cartons are made from renewable wood fibres and the company seeks to increase this percentage by replacing non-renewable material with renewable material. "It is our aim to offer the packaging solutions with the lowest carbon footprint in our market segments," said Mink

Recycling, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding landfill, is another key priority for Tetra Pak, which currently recycles 21 billion cartons each year. This is expected to increase by 1 billion each year." In Europe 30% of all beverage cartons are recycled into new paper products, saving some 300,000 tonnes CO2 equivalents from landfill every year.

"With the positive response Tetra Pak is getting from retailers and other market stakeholders, our long-term commitments to reduce our carbon footprint now appear to be bearing fruit," said Mink.

Beyond its own CO2 reductions, the packaging sector may also have a broader role to play. "Through the symbols and environmental information it can carry, packaging can help guide consumer and so spread sustainable consumption practices across the European market," she said.

Company profile

As a world leader in food processing and packaging solutions, Tetra Pak's motto ˜protects what's good"™ reflects the philosophy upon which we conduct our business in order to make food safe and available, everywhere.

Operating in more than 165 markets with over 20,000 employees, Tetra Pak believes in responsible industry leadership, creating profitable growth in harmony with good corporate citizenship and a sustainable approach to business.

We work closely with our suppliers and customers on preferred processing and packaging solutions to provide convenient, innovative and environmentally sound products to millions of people worldwide.