Tetra Pak to introduce more than three billion FSC™- labelled beverage cartons in Germany

Tetra Pak plans to offer 3.3 billion beverage cartons bearing the label of the Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC) within one year to customers in Germany starting in June. This represents about 50 percent of the annual production of Tetra Pak cartons in Germany.

“As a leading producer of food packaging we set standards for sustainable raw material sourcing. FSC certification represents another step in Tetra Pak’s ongoing commitment to support responsible forest management and drive environmental performance – and a milestonein reliable and informative package labelling,” said Sven Weidemann, managing director of Tetra Pak Germany and Switzerland.
“Our ultimate goal is to have all supply certified to the highest standard, currently set by FSC. We are committed to increasing the number of Tetra Pak beverage cartons made from FSC-certified material as the availability of certified board increases,” he said.

On the raw material front, Tetra Pak works closely with its paperboard suppliers to ensure that all supply comes from known and acceptable sources. Currently, only 5% of the global forest stocks are FSC certified, and Tetra Pak is working with its partners to support an increase in supply. Since the introduction of the world’s first FSC-labelled liquid food cartons in the UK in 2007, Tetra Pak has introduced FSC-labelled cartons in several markets around the globe, with the total number exceeding 2.3 billion in 2009. Tetra Pak in Germany and Austria join the company’s operations in China, France, the UK and the Benelux in offering customers FSC certified packaging.

The FSC label guarantees that the wood fibres in the package are traceable all the way through the supply chain back to the forest and that the paperboard used in the package comes from FSC-certified forests and other controlled sources.

ABOUT THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the worlds forests. It provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services for companies and organizations interested in responsible forestry. Products carrying the FSC label are independently certified to assure consumers that they come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. Find more information available at www.fsc.org. The FSC license code for Tetra Pak is FSC-C014047