Tetra Pak has tightened its nature strategy after two years of implementation, placing greater weight on responsible sourcing and water resilience as it seeks to concentrate effort where its value chain has the biggest environmental footprint.
The company said its refreshed Approach to Nature builds on experience gained since the framework was launched in 2024 and is designed to direct resources towards the materials, suppliers and locations where it can have the greatest impac...
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t. The framework remains organised around four areas: upstream, operations, downstream and transform, but the revised version gives a stronger emphasis to upstream activities, where Tetra Pak says its most significant dependencies and impacts on nature are concentrated.
Among the updated commitments is a more targeted approach to high-priority sourcing locations, including the use of geographic information systems to verify whether those areas are deforestation-free. Tetra Pak has also set a goal of cutting total water withdrawal by 10% by 2030 at suppliers with the highest water-related impacts, a move intended to sharpen its focus on water-stressed parts of the supply chain.
According to the company, the revisions follow practical lessons from rolling out the framework across its value chain. The updated approach is meant to improve traceability, strengthen verification and make outcomes more measurable, rather than simply broadening the list of ambitions.
Francesca Priora, vice president for climate and nature at Tetra Pak, said the company had gained a clearer understanding of where action would matter most. She said the refresh reflected a shift towards more precise execution and called collaboration with suppliers, customers and partners essential to protecting ecosystems and building more resilient food systems.
The framework also keeps a broader sustainability remit, including work on the transition to a circular economy through better product design, improved equipment efficiency and a more optimised approach to collection, recycling and waste management.
Tetra Pak said the revised strategy is already supported by progress made since 2024. The company has engaged its supplier base in nature-related impact assessments and introduced procurement requirements linked to those findings. It said 100% of the paper-based materials used in its products come from FSC-certified and other controlled sources, while 100% of plant-based polymers are Bonsucro-certified.
It has also moved ahead on water-related reporting, requiring high-impact suppliers to disclose data on water quality and quantity. On air pollution, Tetra Pak said it has already met a 2030 target to cut volatile organic compound emissions from production sites by 50% against a 2019 baseline, ahead of schedule.
Alexander Nick, senior director for climate and nature at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, said the updated framework showed an effort to turn ambition into clearer priorities and action across the value chain. He welcomed the company’s willingness to review and adapt its approach as implementation experience accumulates.
The changes come as manufacturers face growing pressure to show how sustainability claims translate into operational decisions, particularly in sourcing, water stewardship and biodiversity. In Tetra Pak’s case, the company is now signalling that the next phase of its nature work will be less about expanding the framework and more about proving it can deliver measurable results where the risks are highest.
Source: Noah Wire Services
