Tetra Pak, Lausanne, Switzerland, 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 this summer. This represents about 50% of the annual production of Tetra Pak cartons in Germany.
Sven Weidemann, managing director of Tetra Pak Germany and Switzerland, noted that "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."
On the raw material front, Tetra Pak works closely with its suppliers to ensure that all paperboard comes from known and acceptable sources. Currently, only 5% of the global forest stocks are FSC certified, and Tetra Pak says that it is working with its partners to support an increase in supply. Since the introduction of the world's first FSC-labeled liquid food cartons in the U.K. in 2007, Tetra Pak has introduced FSC-labeled 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 U.K., and the Benelux in offering customers FSC certified packaging.
TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/