The challenge of nature loss
Nature is deteriorating at rates unprecedented in human history due to human activity1. Around one million species face extinction, with current extinction rates causing scientists to declare a ‘sixth mass extinction’ underway2. Many essential services nature provides are now at risk, with significant negative impacts on ecosystems and human wellbeing3. One of the services at risk is the regulation of freshwater quantity and quality, which is decreasing access to clean water around the world4. The impacts of nature loss are wide-reaching and threaten the foundations of our global economies, livelihoods, and food systems5 6.
The most significant driver of nature loss is the change in the use of land and seas, including the conversion of natural areas to agriculture and urban areas. Nature loss is also driven by unsustainable levels of extraction of natural resources, pollution, climate change, and the introduction of invasive species7.
Countries around the world are recognising the urgency of addressing nature loss. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), also known as the Biodiversity Plan, was adopted in December 2022 at COP15. It calls for countries to take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and put nature on a path to recovery by 2030.
A commitment to acting for nature
As a leading food processing technology and packaging solutions company, Tetra Pak’s value chain is highly dependent on nature and the services it provides, and is therefore at risk due to nature loss. We have a responsibility to take action for nature and to support the objectives of both the Biodiversity Plan and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Nature is one of the focus areas of Tetra Pak’s Sustainability Agenda, and our ambitions are to:
- Contribute to reversing and halting nature loss by reducing the negative impacts of our value chain on nature and by supporting landscape restoration.
- Contribute to global water resilience by reducing the negative impacts on local water resources and working to solve shared water challenges in at-risk basins8 across our value chain.
- Work with suppliers and customers to reduce the negative impacts of food value chains on nature, contributing to more secure, resilient and sustainable food systems.
Recognising the interconnections between nature and people, our actions in these areas are carried out with respect for human rights.
A value-chain framework for protecting and restoring nature
To realise these ambitions, we have developed an approach rooted in measurable, quantitative targets and practical actions. This is a framework focused on nature, with a particular emphasis on addressing the drivers of nature loss that are relevant for Tetra Pak’s value chain, but it is also closely linked with our efforts on climate, circularity, social sustainability and food systems.
We have carried out assessments to understand how our value chain depends on and impacts nature and to identify nature-related risks and opportunities in our value chain. Using this information, we have structured our approach across four pillars that reflect the different stages of our value chain.
The frameworks and tools for companies to assess and address their impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities related to nature are constantly evolving. We follow this progress closely, updating our assessment and approach accordingly. However, given the urgency to halt and restore nature loss, we believe it is important that companies such as ours implement targets and actions urgently, based on the best information currently available, while ensuring respect for human rights.
The four pillars of our approach to nature
Tetra Pak approach to nature
To realise our ambitions, each of the four pillars in the Tetra Pak Approach to Nature is defined by concrete areas for action. These action areas, in turn, are supported by quantitative targets that enable us to measure our progress.
1Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019
2Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019
3Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019
4Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019
5Herweijer, C., et al. "Nature risk rising: Why the crisis engulfing nature matters for business and the economy." World Economic Forum and PwC. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_ Economy_Report_2020.pdf
6FAO. 2019. The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, J. Bélanger & D. Pilling (eds.). FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Assessments. Rome. 572 pp.
7Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019
8At-risk basins are identified using the SBTN methodology, based on eight different indicators across water quantity, quality and wash. For each indicator, a score between 1 and 5 is attributed. Within these three categories, one indicator with a score of 3 or above indicates that the basin is at risk.