Client
Expertise
Assurance and labelling
Impact
Meeting customer and regulatory calls for transparent and credible green claims.
CHALLENGE
How can manufacturers strengthen the green credentials of their products?
Sterile packaging plays a fundamental role in minimising the one-third of food that is wasted and lost from farm to fork. Food can last longer, be distributed further and stored safely without relying on refrigeration. Yet much of today’s food packaging to feed a rising population is made of fossil-based virgin plastic. As brands seek to become more sustainable, the packaging industry is under pressure to evolve.
Tetra Pak has set out on a journey to create the world’s most sustainable package. This mission has led to greater investments in paper-based packaging, simplified material structure and plant-based renewable materials. One of the company’s initiatives is to use sugarcane-derived polymers in the caps, tops, and coatings of its carton packages. The result is a further reduction of the carbon footprint of its packages. With an independent verification, Tetra Pak wanted to provide clear details on the environmental impact of its products to customers, including large consumer brands and their end-consumers. Doing so would encourage brands to opt for packaging solutions with increased use of renewable materials and a reduced carbon footprint.
SOLUTION
Substantiating the emissions profile of Tetra Pak’s packaging with the Carbon Trust label
Since 2016, we have been collaborating with Tetra Pak to make the carbon impact of its packaging solutions more visible and accessible. To direct brands towards the plant-based packaging choice, we:
Verified the cradle-to-grave product carbon footprints of Tetra Pak’s standard fossil-based packaging and its plant-based packaging in line with ISO 14067. In 2024, we certified Tetra Pak’s new calculation methodology, accounting for the biogenic carbon sequestration of the company’s plant-based packaging.
Compared the carbon impact of different products and found that packaging with plant-based polymers is lower than that with fossil-based polymers. As a result, packaging products made of biogenic materials such as sugarcane achieved our verification demonstrating a ‘lower footprint compared to the family’ in line with our requirements for assurance.
Advised Tetra Pak and its customers on how to communicate the Carbon Trust label to avoid greenwashing. Since Tetra Pak can sublicense the label, brands can share the reductions achieved by switching to plant-based packaging with their end-consumers.
Assessed if Tetra Pak's cradle-to-grave calculation methods conform to PAS 2050 and ISO Standards. We also certified that the online Product Xplorer calculator can generate accurate cradle-to-gate product footprints, meaning B2B customers can use this online tool to scan the emissions associated with each packaging solution.
With this verification and the Carbon Trust label, Tetra Pak can confidently claim that its plant-based products have a lower carbon footprint than their fossil fuel equivalents. Enhanced information on the right-hand side provides further detail on the footprints.
IMPACT
Helping customers reduce their carbon footprint with plant-based packaging
Tetra Pak demonstrates that the packaging industry can innovate and find solutions that protect both food and the planet. By telling the sustainability story of its packaging with the Carbon Trust comparative label, Tetra Pak can now clearly show the difference between the two offerings. The label, combined with the certified CO2 calculator, has enabled the conglomerate to:
Reduce the risk of greenwashing. The label strengthens Tetra Pak’s green claims with accurate, clear, accessible data. It helps Tetra Pak communicate transparently and protect end-consumers from misleading claims in line with changing regulations, such as the EU Green Claims Directive.
Direct brands towards lower carbon solutions. By choosing Tetra Pak’s solutions with biogenic materials, brands can make more sustainable procurement decisions and reduce their own Scope 3 emissions.
Help end-consumers make more informed choices. Tetra Pak will sublicense the Carbon Trust label across its global markets, including the UK, EU and US. It signposts end-consumers to further details on the claims made.
Incentivise Tetra Pak's customers to compare the carbon impact of different packaging options with the online Product Xplorer calculator. This increases carbon transparency as brands can accurately account for the emissions of the packaging they choose.
