FOOD FUTURES PEOPLE 2018 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT NORTH EUROPE SUPPLEMENT
ii RECYCLING IS FUN The Carton Match AN APPLE A DAY A PACKAGE MADE FROM APPLES Juice producer Kiviks Musteri AB has been a key player in the annual Apple Day event in Kivik and celebrated 30 years for the event in 2017. One of our main initiatives in Sweden is the school competition The Carton Match (Kartongmatchen), which is a part of our co-operation with the World Wildlife fund, WWF, in Sweden. Since the start in 2012 almost 200 000 kids from pre-schools up to year 6 have participated and it has become the largest school competition in Sweden. The purpose is to share knowledge that recycling is easy and the right thing to do and contribute to engagement for questions concerning our environment and recycling among young. The many lovely pictures and film clips we have received show a strong commitment and great joy in engaging for the environment. Helena Lindh, project leader for the Carton Match at Tetra Pak North Europe. The participants in the 2017 competition influenced their families to reach a recycling rate of almost 90%. The carton competition is therefore clear evidence that the recycling rate can be increased with inspiration, knowledge sharing and commitment. The competition also attracted a lot of media attention and was covered by radio, local newspapers and television shows. Tetra Pak participated with a knowledge hub focused on the recycling of beverage cartons. Although recycling is a key area of interest for consumers, surprisingly few know how beverage cartons are recycled. By using a rebuilt household blender and water, a simplified recycling process demonstrated how the paper fibres are separated from the plastic and aluminium elements. At the same time, kids and families were invited to participate in the annual recycling school competition Kartongmatchen.
RELEASING HAPPY COWS In mid-april in 2017, after a long and cold winter the local dairy farmers opened the barn gates and released their cows out into the fields. This tradition has turned into one of the most popular family events during the spring in the Region of Skåne in Sweden. Skånemejerier invites the public to take part in the event every year at several places. Tetra Pak participated at the main event in Skurup where we set up a station where visitors could see how recycling of Tetra Pak packages is done. A minipulper based on a rebuilt household blender was set up to show how only water and stirring is needed to separate the different materials in the packages. Many consumers were not aware of the fact that paper fibres in beverage cartons are very easy to recycle into new products like cereal boxes or pizza cartons. The interest in understanding how packaging is recycled was very high among the consumers we met during the event. The children were invited to flatten and recycle the portion packs with chocolate milk they received from Skånemejerier at our station and as a reward they happily received stickers with the characters from the annual recycling school competition Kartongmatchen. At the same time, kids and families were invited to participate in the competition. LUND UNIVERSITY 350 YEARS SUSTAINABILITY WEEK Tetra Pak participated and shared insights during several events during the Lund University sustainability week in 2017. Erik Lindroth, Environment Director Nordics, participated in the full-day conference Sustainable Business, Reporting and Assurance together with representatives from Volvo and Atlas Copco, and shared Tetra Pak s experiences around sustainability reporting. Helena Lindh Environment Executive Nordics at Tetra Pak shared packaging insights during a paneldiscussion together with representatives from Region Skåne, Lantmännen, Axfood, Packbridge, Solserv, Välingetorp and researchers in Packaging Logistics at Lund University under the theme: Can packages contribute to reduce food waste?. iii
iv ICELAND GOING PLANT-BASED In April 2017, our Icelandic customer Mjólkursamsalan switched their entire portfolio of packages for milk to the fully plant-based version of Tetra Rex. In addition, all packages were FSC - labelled and in conjunction of the launch there was also a recycling communication effort. All these activities were also a good platform for communication in digital channels, print advertising and engagement of professional key stakeholders. The campaign resulted in good media coverage, engaged consumers on Facebook and a very positive reception of the new packages. THE FSC (FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL ) LICENCE CODE FOR TETRA PAK IS FSC C014047. FEMPACK EVENT ON CIRCULARITY SMART PACKAGING FOR SUSTAINABILITY On the international women s day 2017 around 50 female experts in the packaging value chain gathered to participate at a Fempack event hosted by Tetra Pak on the theme of circularity. Annika Olsson, Professor in Packaging Logistics at Lund University shared her experience on practical tools on how to reach a more sustainable value chain. She also talked about how smart packaging design can create possibilities for sustainable development. Helena Lindh, Environment Executive Nordics at Tetra Pak shared insights on the environmental efforts within Tetra Pak and how circularity is an integrated part of the company strategy.
VALIO S FULLY PLANT-BASED GABLE TOP CARTONS ROLL-OUT Valio has taken a major step towards even more environmentally smart packaging solutions as the company has significantly increased the use of fully plantbased gable top cartons. By the end of 2018, all of Valio's milk, buttermilk, yoghurt and cream gable tops for sale in Finland will be made from plant-based materials. Valio was the first company in the world to introduce Tetra Rex Bio-based already 2015 for the company's organic Valio Luomu milk products after a pilot with Valio Eila lactose free semi-skimmed milk drink. Valio's fully plant-based gable top roll-out was rewarded with the Nordic Scanstar 2017 packaging award in the Environment category of the competition. Scanstar is a Nordic packaging competition organised by the Scandinavian Packaging Association since 1969. TETRA PAK TREE DAY GROWS ACROSS IRELAND In October 2017, we celebrated the Tetra Pak Tree Day, making almost 1,000 oak tree saplings available to primary school children across Ireland. The aim of the campaign is to give children, teachers and parents the opportunity to connect directly with trees, nature and the outdoors. The campaign is also designed to increase environment education and awareness among school children. To this end, the campaign s mascot Sammy Squirrel featured on the back of Avonmore School Milk cartons with seven bespoke environmental messages that encouraged children to think about our natural environment and the role they can play in protecting it. v
vi BUILDING RECYCLING VALUE CHAINS The simple, closed-loop water-based process (repulping) allows the paperboard to be separated from the non-fibre layers. (Source: ACE UK) We take a value chain approach to recycling. This means working on everything from consumer awareness, and collection and sorting infrastructure, through to expanding market opportunities for recycled materials. Partnering and connecting stakeholders is critical to building sustainable recycling value chains. We collaborate and associate with a wide range of local and global stakeholders, including waste management companies, recyclers, municipalities industry associations and equipment suppliers. ACE: The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment provides a European platform for Tetra Pak and other major beverage carton manufacturers and their paperboard suppliers to benchmark and profile cartons as renewable, recyclable and low-carbon packaging solutions. The association engages with stakeholders and partners and contributes expertise to EU policy, legislation and standardsetting. Through our membership of ACE UK, we were instrumental in getting a paper cup recycling initiative off the ground. In October 2017, organisations from across the paper cup supply chain signed an agreement with ACE UK to establish paper cup recycling alongside carton packages in bring banks (which cover 25% of the UK). ACE UK will also work to include cups in local authority kerbside collections. The greater volumes of recycling material generated by this initiative will improve the beverage carton recycling stream, strengthen the business case for carton recycling and contribute to a sustainable recycling value chain in the UK. This initiative complements Tetra Pak s existing activities, while raising awareness of our work. WATER IN CARTON NOW ALSO IN THE BALTICS Consumers in the Baltics can choose water in carton packaging produced by Eckes-Granini in Lithuania who expanded their portfolio with flavoured water in carton packaging. Increasing consumer awareness of health is driving development of the water segment. Water products under the brand Water+ are flavoured with fresh lemon or lime juice and has no added sweeteners. It is presented as low in calories meeting the demands of consumers following their diets and healthy hydration. In a highly competitive market, products in carton packaging helps a distinctive profile on the shelf.
KIDS SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE To raise children s awareness of environment and good packaging as well as support the school milk program, Tetra Pak in Latvia organized the Tetra Pak Challenge. A good place to engage with young people is the internet and therefore kids were asked to fill in a test on a campaign homepage. Supported by activities in schools and on Facebook, the test attracted almost 13,000 kids who took the test more than 37,000 times, in order to test their knowledge of packaging and the environment. MEASURING ENVIRONMENT IMPACT Tetra Pak presented a new LCA study covering four Nordic countries at a popular breakfast meeting in Stockholm in April 2017. The seminar was introduced by Johan Rabe, Managing Director at Tetra Pak North Europe, who explained the reasoning behind why Tetra Pak puts such a heavy emphasis on environment questions; it is today a question of competitiveness and in the future, it will be a basic requirement. The LCA-study was presented by Stefanie Markwardt from the German research Institute IFEU who conducted the project, covering eleven different categories of results. The main focus of the presentation was on climate change. Beverage cartons generally did well in the analysis thanks to a high share of renewable material. It also showed that replacing fossil plastics with plant-based plastics further reduces climate impact and that a beverage carton with plant-based plastics in both laminate and cap shows a climate impact on par with a traditional package without cap. The following panel discussion, where Per Larsson from WWF also participated, outlined both challenges and opportunities with renewable materials, e.g. the risk of confusion between plant-based plastics and bio-degradable plastics and the need for clarity how forestry raw materials should be used in a responsible manner. vii
2018 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT tetrapak.com/sustainability