What Is Renewability In Packaging, And Why Should We Care?

WHAT IS RENEWABILITY IN PACKAGING, AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
sustainability by transitioning from the linear ‘take, make,
dispose’ model for packaging to a circular, restorative model that
considers every stage of the package life cycle.2 In particular,
businesses could shift the traditional focus from the end of
the package life cycle to the beginning, by considering the
raw materials and quantity used in the creation of a package.
The main role of a package is to protect the product within,
but as long as this is upheld, the sourcing of raw materials and
renewability can become a priority.
The world is growing. Increased travel, greater
populations in urban areas, and higher demand
for convenience products and packaging are
putting an alarming strain on the world’s supply
of scarce natural resources. Supplies of clean air
and water are under pressure; and oil, natural gas,
and minerals are expected to run out by the end
of this century.1
We are playing a self-destructive
game with the limits of our planet, and the time
to change, innovate, and lead is now.
Businesses can become leaders and protect their long-term

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‘Renewability’ – or simply
‘the ability to renew’- is about
using a resource that can
be regrown or replenished
naturally with the passage
of time, such as paperboard-
based packaging and
renewable polymers such as
bio-based polyethylene (PE).
Renewability in packaging
is vital to the future of our
planet to help offset pending
resource scarcity, and also
offers many environmental
benefits such as mitigating
changes in climate patterns,
serving as a carbon sink,
and enabling biodiversity.
Using renewable resources
whenever possible – and the
smallest amount required for
the package to do its job –
will have a positive impact on
our global economic stability
and the ongoing health and
biodiversity of our planet.
Renewable resources in packaging are only a good alternative if
they come from responsibly managed sources. Forests and land
both have credible certification schemes to ensure the ongoing
benefits of trees, plants, and food security to our local ecosystems
and communities. Forest Stewardship CouncilTM
(FSC) is
considered to be the leading global certification program by most
NGOs and is supported by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Different
certifications schemes and standards also address the sustainable
production of specific crops. Bonsucro, a relatively new scheme,
is dedicated to reducing the environmental and social impacts of
sugar cane production.
There is no perfect package today, but we can learn about the
carbon impact at each life cycle stage using a tool called Life
Cycle Analysis (LCA). By revealing the big picture, LCA helps
avoid improvement in one area at the expense of another. LCAs
show that using renewable materials in packaging can provide
a step change for positive results. For example, if 75% of a
package’s weight is from renewable paperboard, that element
of the package only contributes 20% of the carbon impact
throughout the package life cycle. 3

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Adopting renewable
resources in packaging
means less price volatility
and a more reliable supply
chain. For businesses today,
using renewable resources
in packaging doesn’t have
to be only about managing
costs. Decreasing physical
availability, economic
scarcity, and geopolitical
issues all contribute to an
insecure supply of finite
natural resources.
Embracing and promoting renewability in packaging is also
a differentiating strategy for businesses. If companies adopt
renewable packaging today, they will be on the cutting edge of
a growing movement and have an opportunity to increase brand
equity by being a more trusted, responsible and sustainable
business. Businesses can look at their own operations for
renewable packaging opportunities, and take a leadership
role with industry and consumers. Similar to the evolution of
recycling, as ‘green’ consumers better understand the concept of
renewability, they will embrace it and put pressure on businesses
to offer renewable packaging.

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Tetra Pak® takes a holistic approach towards our environmental
footprint evaluating and setting meaningful targets to reduce
the environmental impact of our products throughout their
whole lifecycle. As such, we have set targets for reducing our
carbon emissions and have been global packaging industry
leaders in recycling from the start. But recycling isn’t enough –
and soon our customers and consumers will expect more too.
Therefore, without losing an inch of ground around our
current commitments, we must now turn our attention to the
front end of the lifecycle and how materials are sourced. We
must establish a new industry commitment to renewability —
protecting natural resources and rewarding best practices and
innovations that focus on the front end. Such a commitment
will keep our industry strong and viable in an increasingly
volatile economy. Recycling will continue to be a key part of a
restorative circular economy, but it is not the only component.
With this white paper as
a starting point, we are
launching a new campaign
to help define how
our industry achieves
important renewability
goals around the sourcing
of raw materials.
Working together, the decisions that businesses and consumers make now
can help shape a brighter future for our economic wellbeing, our global
communities, and our planet. Please join us in this important conversation. We
invite you to visit http:www.doingwhatsgood.us/moving-to-the-front/, follow
us on Twitter @TetraPak _NA_Eco, and visit our website at www.tetrapakusa.
com. Thank you for caring about renewability in packaging.
JOIN US IN LEADING A NEW MOVEMENT -
TO THE FRONT

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The world is growing. And so is demand for our
scarce natural resources. There will be nine billion
of us sharing the planet by 2050, including three
billion new middle-class consumers.4
Increased
road and air travel, greater populations in
urban areas, and higher demand for convenient
packaged goods and products will put an
alarming strain on the world’s supply of clean
water, air, and other natural resources.
Fossil fuels – including oil and natural gas - are predicted to
run out in the next 30-70 years depending on consumption
rates, according to a 2012 futures report by the BBC.5 Minerals -
including aluminum, copper, and silver – are also expected to be
gone by the end of this century.6 While our growing population is
using up resources, we are also throwing away more and creating
new landfills to support our waste. Solid waste generated per
person per day will increase from 2.6 pounds today to 3.1 pounds
by 2025 – an increase of almost 20%. 7
INTRODUCTION
CHANGE NOW: OUR PLANET AND
BUSINESSES DEPEND ON IT

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Our growing global population is using natural
resources and creating waste at a rate that our
planet is struggling to support. If we don’t change
the current trajectory, we’ll find ourselves living
and working in a world that cannot sustain its
inhabitants. Predictions vary for what this world
will look like. Some extreme views - for the
depletion of oil in particular - include “soaring
gas prices, the end of globalization, widespread
anarchy, and the relentless exploitation of
previously protected drilling sites.” 8 This
scenario would cause major disruption to
businesses and consumers around the world, and
would permanently damage the earth’s natural
environment and biodiversity.
Other views claim the decreasing supply of oil
will inspire increased innovation, such as the
recent development of hybrid cars, which will
result in fewer and different resources being
used to support our needs. A McKinsey article
on resource scarcity supports innovation as an
outcome: “Will shortages of energy, materials,
food, and water put the brakes on global
growth? Far from it. By combining information
technology with industrial technology, as well
as through harnessing materials science and
biotechnology, innovators are showing that it
is possible to produce more with less and to
access resources at far lower costs.”9
The true outcome will likely fall somewhere
in between these different viewpoints. We do
know that global oil supply, for example, cannot
meet current global oil demand forever. Even
if innovation and new technologies allowed us
to harvest every last drop of oil in the planet,
decreased supply and higher prices would
necessitate widespread change long before we
actually ran out of oil.10 The same is true for other
fossil fuels and minerals.
Whichever scenario aligns most closely with
your beliefs – extreme, or perhaps less so – the
truth is we are running dangerously low on
natural resources and playing a self-destructive
game with the limits of our planet. The time to
change, innovate, and lead is now.

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Businesses can become leaders in this space - and protect their long-term
prospects - by transitioning from the traditional linear ‘take, make, dispose’
model for packaging to a circular, restorative model that considers every
stage of the package life cycle,11 and by growing awareness about this.
The traditional linear model relies on “large quantities of easily accessible
resources and energy, and as such is increasingly unfit for the reality in
which it operates.”12 The circular economy, in contrast, relies on resources
that can be replenished, eliminates the use of toxic chemicals throughout the
life cycle, and minimizes waste through careful planning and design. 13
a large quantity of resources was used, and the
resources have a limited natural supply, there is
a pressing need to consider smaller quantities
and alternative resources, as long as product
protection remains intact.
Packaging is a good place to start considering
the circular approach. First and foremost, the
role of a package is to protect the product
inside. Only when product protection is
achieved can we consider material and system
trade-offs to improve environmental impacts
of the package itself. Today, most consumers
focus on the ‘dispose’ stage of the linear model,
and specifically on whether or not a package
is recyclable. This is not surprising given the
decades of investment that recycling access and
education have received. Recycling is a key part
of the circular economy, but not the only one.
Sometimes, even if recyclable, a package may
have had a significant environmental impact in
earlier life cycle stages, which is why each stage
needs to be considered. One critical question
is what kind of resources and how many of
them went into the creation of the package? If

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‘How were the resources extracted from the
earth, and what impact did this have on local
ecosystems and biodiversity?
How much water, and what type of energy,
was used during manufacturing?
How much transportation fuel was required to
get it to market?
Is the package leading to wastage due to size,
re-sealability, or other characteristics?
What will happen to the package at end of life
– is it recyclable, biodegradable, or reusable?’
And the cycle starts again. Asking and getting answers to
these questions will provide a holistic view of the full life cycle
of packages, and help consider the impact at each stage.
There are a number of other
questions to ask in the next stages
of the circular model:
In this paper, we will focus
on the beginning of the life
cycle. This is not to say we
believe other stages are less
important, but rather that
the beginning of the circular
model usually receives less
visibility - especially when
the subject is sourcing of raw
materials and renewability.

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The definition of ‘Renewability’ – or simply ‘the ability to
renew’ – is about using a resource that can be regrown
or replenished naturally with the passage of time. By
renewable materials, we mean materials made from natural
resources that are inexhaustible or replaceable by new
growth. A good example is paperboard – a resource to
make packaging – made of fiber from forests that are
constantly and progressively replanted, and/or naturally
regenerated. There is a common perception that cutting
down trees is bad for the planet. However, if forests are
well-managed so that trees can regrow, they become a
sustainable source of raw material that will be replenished
and, therefore, available for many generations to come.
“Wood, which is the most
abundant renewable
material on Earth, is
made with solar energy
in the forest. We believe
the correct policy is to
grow more trees and use
more wood, not less.”
– Dr. Patrick Moore, Founding
Member and former
President of Greenpeace
WHAT IS RENEWABILITY,
AND WHY IS IT VITAL?

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Another example of a renewable material – and
a more recent innovation - is bio-based plastic
made from crops such as sugar cane, dent
corn or wheat. The beginning of a departure
from plastics made of fossil fuels, which are
nonrenewable, is a positive step. Still, similar
to forests, the land that sources bio-based
plastics must be well-managed to ensure
sustainable food supplies and prices for our
global population. Well-managed forests and
land must also uphold the environmental and
social values in the surrounding communities.
The use of renewable resources in packaging
started with paperboard-based packaging,
which businesses have been using for many
decades. Recent innovations have meant a
gradual move towards growing applications
of renewable polymers, such as bio-based
polyethylene (PE), a plastic sometimes made
from ethanol derived from sugar cane (as
mentioned above). The first bio-based plastics
were used in the early 20th century, to replace
ivory used in mirrors and hair combs. More
recently, applications of bio-based plastics have
been increasing due to the concern over finite
resources such as petroleum.
These recent applications of renewable
polymers started in the automotive and beauty
& care segments, and have been expanding
to the food & drink industry. For example, the
cosmetics company Shiseido has the ambition
to replace 50% of petroleum-based materials
with renewable materials in products by 2020.
For Procter & Gamble, that ambition is 25% by
2020. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Danone have
stated similar ambitious targets for the use of
green polymers in their packaging. On April 28,
2014, Tetra Pak announced the use of bio-based
plastics in packaging for all customers in the
Brazilian market.

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“We are particularly proud to be the
first in the industry to use bio-based
low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in
carton packages. We believe that the
best way to protect the sustainable
future of the packaging industry
and meet the global challenge of a
growing scarcity of fossil-fuel based
raw materials is to further increase
the use of renewable resources. We
have set an ambition to develop a
100% renewable package, building
from an average of 70% today. This
launch – which brings the content of
renewable materials to as much as
82% in a Tetra Brik® Aseptic 1000ml
Base package – is an important step
in that direction.”
– Charles Brand, Vice President Marketing
& Product Management at Tetra Pak

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While the first generation of renewable polymers
is from crops such as dent corn, sugar cane,
and wheat, there has been recent innovation in
polymers from materials such as waste biomass
and algae. One commonly held view is that the
introduction of these new materials in renewable
polymers will help resolve competition with food
and feed crops, and begin to provide a partial
solution for environmental impacts such as land
use change.
“In a world in which the population is
growing at a fast pace and demand
for food and feedstock are on the rise,
the use of feedstock for non-food
purposes is often debated. Cereplast’s
future family of bioplastics will
leverage an algae source rich in
ingredients suitable for plastic
development, but that also has no
effect on the food chain, resulting in a
sustainable and population conscious
plastic alternative.”
– Frederic Scheer, Chairman and
CEO of Cereplast
“In addition to testing new
materials from renewable
resources like green-PE, bio-
PET and PLA, and identifying
opportunities for the use of
cardboard from only certified
wood sources, we are committed
to offering consumers more
sustainable product choices.
” – Philippe Bonningue,
Vice President of Packaging, L’Oreal USA
Food demand is a valid concern, but all of the
variables for food security must be considered
to assess the overall impact of a bio-based
material. These variables include fresh water
availability, land and soil management,
government regulations, climate events, trade
sanctions, and more. There may not be one
solution for bio-based plastic that is clearly
better than others, but perhaps a variety of
solutions will be optimal in different situations.
Our society is on a journey of constant
improvement and innovation to find solutions
with the lowest environmental impact.
Whether from paperboard or bio-based plastics
- or even new materials that haven’t yet been
discovered - renewability in packaging is vital to
the future of our planet to help offset impending
resource scarcity, and the unknown severity of
consequences on business. Depletion of today’s
most commonly used resources will force a
change in the way we do business and consume
products, whether we act now or wait until we
don’t have a choice.

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Not only does renewability in packaging help offset
the economic challenges of resource scarcity,
but it also has environmental benefits when the
renewable resources are tied with responsible
land and forest management, which ensures that
the supply is always higher than the demand.
For example, well-managed forests are always
growing, and wood and wood-based products
serve as a sink to absorb growing levels of Co2
from the atmosphere. By soaking up Co2 and other
greenhouse gases, forests play a critical role in
mitigating ongoing changes in climate patterns.14
Forests also play a major role in protecting the
biodiversity of the planet - which is currently
under threat - by giving whole ecosystems of
plants and animals a place to live. Forests cover
31% of the world’s total land area15, and provide
homes for around 50% of all plant and animal
species16 and 80% of the world’s terrestrial
biodiversity.17 These forest ecosystems are
complex webs of organisms that include plants,
animals, fungi and bacteria – many of which are
still undiscovered.
Using renewable resources in packaging
wherever possible to begin with, and then
using the smallest quantity possible of those
resources, will have a positive impact on our
global economic stability, the quality of our
atmosphere and our planet, local habitats of
plants and animals, and biodiversity.

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SUSTAINABLE SOURCING
DRIVES SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY
initiatives, and should form the basis of any forest
management certification scheme. The three key
areas of attention are:
• Economic viability, including the
maintenance of a sustained yield
of timber and non-timber products
and services
• Social responsibility, including
respect for human rights as well as
the rights of workers, indigenous
people, and local communities
• Environmental sustainability,
including maintaining the
ecological functions of the forests,
maintaining high conservation
values, and protecting
biodiversity.
Forest management certification is a voluntary
process through which an accredited body verifies
the environmental, social, and economic qualities of
a forest against agreed-upon standards, while chain
Renewable resources in packaging are only a
good alternative if they come from responsibly
managed sources, and responsible sourcing relies
on credible certification schemes. For example,
although wood is used efficiently and for many
different purposes, it can take many decades for
a tree to grow back. Land must also be carefully
managed to ensure its reliable presence as a
key variable for food security. The responsible
management of forests and land is critical to
ensure continuing benefits of trees, plants,
and food security to our local ecosystems and
communities, as well as climate regulation, air
and water filtration, prevention of erosion and
sedimentation, ensuring wildlife habitat.
Responsible forest management can vary
at an operational level because forests
differ enormously in social, economic, and
environmental characteristics around the
world. However, common principles for
responsible forest management have been
described or prescribed in a number of different

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of custody certification confirms the connection
from the forest floor to the point of sale. Third-
party verified forest management and chain of
custody certification is more credible than a self-
declaration from suppliers as proof that wood
fiber came from well-managed forests.
There are a number of forest certification
schemes, including Forest Stewardship CouncilTM
(FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), and
American Tree Farm System. World Wildlife
Fund (WWF) and other leading environmental
organizations consider FSC as the only credible
forest certification system available globally given
the robust environmental and social protections it
upholds. There are also specific crop management
certifications such as Bonsucro and the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Similar to that
of forest management, those certifications must
balance the need for biomass production with
the need to produce other materials, as well as
respecting workers and local communities’ rights,
and protecting local ecosystems and biodiversity.
Bonsucro, a relatively new certification scheme,
sets a global metric standard for sugarcane and is
dedicated to reducing the environmental and social
impacts of sugar cane production.
Forest Stewardship CouncilTM (FSC) in an international non-
profit membership organization that was founded in 1994 by
environmental and social organizations and companies to
develop a market-based approach that would improve forestry
practices worldwide. The three chambers of FSC—economic,
environmental, and social—have equal representation and weight
in the decision making process of the organization, including
developing the principles, criteria, and standards for responsible
forest management and chain of custody certification. FSC
requirements are comprehensive, and include identifying high
conservation values and maintaining or enhancing them,
expanding the protection of water bodies and wetlands, ensuring
compliance with international and domestic laws, upholding the
legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples, and restricting
pesticide use. Today FSC is operating in more than 80 countries
across the globe.

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As the global population continues to grow
- with its increasing demand for convenience
food and beverage products - the importance
of sustainable packaging also continues to
grow. First and foremost, sustainable packaging
needs to protect the product within. Once
this is achieved, the next question is how can
businesses design and/or adopt packaging
that can further contribute to a circular
economy, without compromising performance.
There is a tangible way to measure the
environmental performance of a package, using
a methodology called Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
Life cycle thinking helps gain a broad and
comprehensive perspective of our products’
footprints by measuring environmental
performance at all life stages, and gaining
visibility on the variables with the highest
impact. An increasing number of companies
are adopting Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to
understand the impact of their products and
packages in each stage. By revealing the
big picture, a life cycle approach ensures
that a company doesn’t create improvement
in one area at the expense of another.18
LCAs show that using renewable materials
in packaging can provide a step change for
positive results. If the package is designed using
the minimum amount of materials possible
without compromising product protection, and
the materials used are renewable, the impact
throughout the life cycle will be improved. Chart
1 shows that when 75% of a package’s weight is
from renewable paperboard, that element of the
package only contributes 20% of the total carbon
impact throughout the package life cycle. 19
Chart 1: Co2 Impact of Paperboard
MEASURING THE IMPACT OF
RENEWABILITY IN PACKAGING

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The right start when developing packaging
is to use the minimum amount of materials
possible to begin with, and renewable materials
wherever possible – all without compromising
product performance. These actions will result
in improved carbon impact throughout the
life cycle of the package. After beginning in
the right way, the benefits from an efficient
renewable package can flow throughout the life
cycle.
Designing an efficient package made from
renewable resources – without compromising
product performance – is a strong way for
companies to improve carbon performance.
“We appreciate the
environmental performance
of cartons and feel they are
an appropriate complement
to our lines of high quality and
organic soups, broths and non-
dairy beverages. When we
evaluate the entire packaging
environmental footprint,
we recognize the benefits
of using cartons that are
made primarily of renewable
resources, including paper
sourced from sustainably
managed forests.”
– Rory Schmick, Director of Sustainability and
Environmental Affairs, Pacific Natural Foods

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WHY RENEWABILITY IS
GOOD FOR BUSINESS
Many businesses are looking for ways to maximize
the future sustainability of packaging. For
some companies, using renewable resources in
packaging is a value statement that reinforces
their commitment to preserving the planet
for future generations. For others, the use of
renewable resources is driven by a business
need to create sustainable supply chains
for fulfilling current needs and guaranteeing
future growth. For many, it is about both.
“Right livelihood is the ethos on
which we built the NextFoods
company. Good for the customer,
the consumer and everything
we touch in the value chain. In
that light, cartons made mainly
of renewable materials are an
obvious choice for NextFoods,
as renewable resources fit in the
center of what we are all about.
We want to make sure that those
resources are available today
and tomorrow. Our customers
appreciate that, and this
preference for renewable-based
packaging makes not only sense
for the planet but also for the
business.”
- Alan Murray CEO, GoodBelly/NextFoods

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abundant cheap resources is coming to an end,
because finding and extracting new sources
of supply is becoming increasingly difficult
and expensive. For example, oil companies
have had to look further and drill deeper to
find smaller reserves of oil, which has doubled
the cost of a well in the past 10 years.23
And it’s not just physical reserves that control
supply, as a PricewaterhouseCoopers report
on minerals scarcity explains, but three factors
working together: physical, economic, and
geopolitical.24 Physical scarcity is linked to the
availability of resources, economic scarcity
is about pricing of resources and functioning
of markets, and geopolitical relates to policy
including trade barriers, export disruption,
and national and international conflicts.25
Continuing climate change can also be added to
the mix – which could further reduce resource
availability and commodity production due to
global policy on usage of fossil fuels. Decreasing
physical availability, economic scarcity, and
geopolitical issues all contribute to the supply of
nonrenewable resources being tenuous, at best.
Using renewable resources in packaging
isn’t just about managing costs. As a BBC
News business article on resource depletion
states, “Imagine a world of spiraling food
prices, water shortages and soaring energy
costs. For many living in the world today, this
nightmare scenario is already a reality. Even
for the well-off living in developed economies,
it is becoming all too familiar. And on current
projections, it’s going to get a whole lot worse.
Short-term fluctuations in supply and demand
aside, a global population explosion combined
with finite resources means the planet cannot
sustain ever-increasing levels of consumption
using current models of production.” 20
Over the past century, commodity prices
halved despite a fourfold increase in the
world’s population and a massive expansion
in the global economy.21 How? Due to the
discovery of new sources of cheap materials
paired with new technologies. However,
in the past 10 years, global commodity
price increases have wiped out all the price
declines in the previous century.22 The era of
“If you can save the planet
and help your bottom line, then
everyone should be up for it.
” – Michael Okoroafor, VP of Global Packaging
Innovation and Execution at Heinz Bottling Plant

21
“Permanent factors
underpinning prices will
work to keep them at
higher average levels
than in the past. In this
environment, supply chain
optimization and resilience
will be necessary to respond
to shocks arising from
discontinuous material
supplies. Businesses must
be able to change inputs to
production and find new
ways to secure supply.”
- Global Business Policy Council 26
Renewable resources for packaging are
readily available in a physical sense, which is
important for any business, but particularly
for businesses seeking growth opportunities.
Adopting renewable resources in packaging
also means less price volatility and a more
reliable supply chain in the medium to long
term, since economic and geopolitical factors
do not play as prominent a role in the supply
of these resources. Using the smallest amount
of resources possible to adequately protect
the product, and then using renewable
resources wherever possible, will contribute
to future business sustainability and growth
opportunities. Renewability in packaging is an
important part of the solution to our future
business and resource challenges.
70% to 100%

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HOW BUSINESSES
CAN HELP FOSTER
RENEWABILITY
Embracing and promoting renewability in
packaging is a differentiating strategy for
businesses, and can help ensure their future
business health. If companies adopt renewable
resources in packaging today, they will be
on the cutting edge of a movement that will
grow over time. For the early adopters, using
renewable packaging today will provide a brand
differentiator. When the functional and emotional
benefits of renewable packaging are realized,
and consumers feel good about a package
that can do its job and help the environment,
renewable packaging can become part of the
essence of a brand. The opportunity to create
a differentiator and increase brand equity by
using renewable packaging is only available to
companies who act now. In ten years, everyone
else will be following.
What can businesses do today to make this a
reality? The first step businesses can take is to
look closely at their own operations for renewable
packaging opportunities. This strategy will build
brand equity and help ensure long-term business
stability by not having to gamble with external
factors related to nonrenewable resources.
“Sustainability can provide
a different lens for thinking,
helping companies to approach
situations differently – for
example, thinking about
supply chains through the
lens of reducing suppliers’
environmental impacts.”
- GreenBiz, How Sustainability
Leadership Drives Innovation 27

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Also, businesses have the opportunity to take a
leadership role in the industry and with consumers, to
educate on the importance of renewability and help
drive consistent environmental standards to assess
the impact of packaging. Some companies, such as
Coca-Cola, have started to take this position.
“When a company of Coca-
Cola’s stature embraces 100%
renewable packaging as it
is doing, it’s a statement to
others: get on board, or you
will get left behind.”
- Greg Keenan, Vice President of Business
Development and Engineering, Virent 28
‘Green’ consumers are becoming more
environmentally educated, and in many cases, are
even prepared to pay more for environmentally
friendly products29 – although this is not yet
specific to renewability. As green consumers better
understand the concept of renewability, they will
embrace it and begin to put pressure on businesses
to offer renewable packaging. Once these green,
early adopters’ understanding of renewable
packaging disseminates into the mass market
of consumers, businesses will face even more
significant pressure to offer renewable packaging.
A similar example is recycling, which has not always
been at the forefront of consumers’ minds. Yet, with
decades of promotion and educational investment,
recycling has now become a “must have” for
most consumers with regards to packaging. With
business and industry leadership and education, the
same will happen with renewability. Renewability
and recycling are each key elements of the circular
economy and they both need to be understood and
adopted for it to work.
Businesses and industry can differentiate
themselves and create brand equity today by
adopting renewability in their own packaging,
looking for renewability opportunities throughout
their supply chains as part of a circular economy,
and taking a leadership role in the industry and
with consumers. Companies that embrace and
lead on renewability today will be ahead of the
game. Soon savvy green consumers will start to
understand the issues around resource scarcity,
then this knowledge will extend to the mass
market, and finally all consumers will collectively
increase the pressure on business and industry.
By acting now, business and industry can stay
ahead of those consumers’ demands for solutions.
Working together, the decisions that businesses
and consumers make now can help shape a
brighter future for our economic wellbeing, our
global communities, and our planet.

24
JOIN US IN LEADING A NEW
MOVEMENT – TO THE FRONT
Tetra Pak has been a global packaging industry
leader in recycling from the start. Today,
recycling has become a mainstream business
practice – table stakes in the eyes of increasingly
environmentally conscious customers.
Because, we know recycling isn’t enough – and
soon our customers and consumers will expect
more too.
There are finite physical materials and natural
resources available to produce our products.
We understand and are always reliant upon
these ecosystems for our business success. Any
company considering packaging options needs
to ensure the stability and sustainability of these
natural resources in order to manage costs, hedge
against price volatility, limit trade barriers, promote
unfettered access to supply chains and more.
Therefore, without losing an inch of ground
around our current commitments, we must
now turn our attention to the front end of the
lifecycle and how materials are sourced. We
The fact that recycling has gone beyond accepted
to expected invites us to address another linked and
lingering business and environmental concern that is
a key part of the circular economy.

25
must establish a new industry commitment to
renewability – protecting natural resources and
rewarding best practices and innovations that
focus on the front end that keep our industry
strong and viable in an increasingly volatile
economy. While recycling will continue to be
key part of a restorative circular economy, it is
not the only component.
Tetra Pak is doing just that and we invite our
industry partners to do the same. With this white
paper as a starting point, we are launching a
campaign – Moving To The Front – that will:
We invite you to join us in this movement and to help define how our industry
achieves these important goals. Please join us in the renewability conversation
and take part in this important dialogue. We invite you learn more about Moving
To The Front at http:www.doingwhatsgood.us/moving-to-the-front/, follow us
on Twitter @Tetrapak _NA_Eco, and visit our website at www.tetrapakusa.com.
Thank you for caring about renewability in packaging.
■ Advocate for broad acceptance of
renewability practices that ensure
the security of our industry and the
sustainability of natural resources
that we – and everyone in the world –
must protect for future generations.
■ Educate our industry, customers,
and consumers around the
importance of renewability
■ Challenge everyone to deploy
and/or help develop a new order of
best practices and standards that
is worthy of industry leaders in the
renewability space.

26
A MESSAGE FROM
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) supports the use
of systems thinking to minimize environmental
impacts across the lifecycle of any product. To
improve the environmental performance of a
package, the net impacts of the entire system
must be addressed. WWF supports the use of
renewable materials from responsibly managed
sources as part of a holistic solution to improve
the environmental performance of packaging.
A MESSAGE FROM
TETRA PAK
Tetra Pak is committed to environmental and
sustainable business practices across its operations,
products, and value chain. The company’s 2020
ambition is to maintain carbon emissions at 2010
levels, double the recycling rate of cartons, and
increase the renewable materials used in cartons
from 70% to 100%, which will continue to drive
sustainable management of our renewable resources.
This paper is a reflection of Tetra Pak’s knowledge,
which comes from the work the company has
been doing since its foundation around resource
management and use of renewable resources.

27
1 http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-stock-check
2 “Towards the Circular Economy, Volume 2: Opportunities for the Consumer Goods Sector,” Executive Summary, p.2
3 LCA data provided by Tetra Pak
4 “Resource Depletion: Opportunity or Looming Catastrophe?” BBC Business News, June 11, 2012
5 http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-stock-check
6 Ibid.
7 From World Bank Data: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTURBANDEVELOPMENT/0,,content
MDK:23172887~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:337178,00.html
8 http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/run-out-of-oil.htm, a Discovery company
9 “How Resource Scarcity is Driving the Third Industrial Revolution,” McKinsey
10 http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/run-out-of-oil.htm
11 “Towards the Circular Economy, Volume 2: Opportunities for the Consumer Goods Sector,” Executive Summary, p.2
12 http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/circular-economy/the-circular-model-an-overview
13 Ibid.
14 http://worldwildlife.org/habitats/forests
15 http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/
16 http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/importance/foresthabitat
17 http://worldwildlife.org/habitats/forests
18 “The Benefits of Life Cycle Analysis,” Environmental Leader, by Elisabeth Comere, March 21, 2012
19 LCA data provided by Tetra Pak
20 “Resource Depletion: Opportunity or Looming Catastrophe?” BBC Business News, June 11, 2012
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid
23 Ibid.
24 Minerals and Metals Scarcity in Manufacturing: The Ticking Time Bomb,” p. 4, PwC, December 2011
25 Ibid.
26 “Depleting Natural Resources,” Global Business Policy Council
27 Green Biz, How Sustainability Leadership Drives Innovation
28 “Making Sense of Sustainability in Packaging,” Smithers Pira White Paper, p.7
29 “How Much Will Consumers Pay to Go Green?” McKinsey Quarterly, by Mehdi Miremadi, October 2012

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