The chemical industry is faced with enormous challenges in meeting the climate goals set by the European Commission and growing sustainability expectations. Firstly, fossil energy must be further reduced. Secondly, product sustainability must be improved, both during the product’s use and at the end of its lifespan. Last but not least, resource efficiency must be improved, raw material consumption decreased, and ecologically harmful loss pathways must be minimised through the advancement of a stringent circular economy. However, something inextricably linked with the above challenges is oftentimes ignored: The chemical industry can only become a sustainable sector once it bids farewell for good to fossil raw materials such as crude oil, natural gas and coal, and uses nothing but renewable carbon as a raw material in organic chemistry. Click read more below for additional detail.

The Myths covered are: •European forests are shrinking •Planted forests are bad for the environment •Paper is bad for the environment •Paper production is a major cause of global greenhouse gas emissions •Only recycled paper should be used •Print and Paper is a wasteful product •Electronic communication is more environmentally friendly than paper-based communication •Digital is always the preferred means of communication •Packaging is wasteful and unnecessary Some of the key facts about paper's sustainability highlighted are: •Between 2005 and 2015, European forests grew by an area the size of Switzerland - that's 1,500 football pitches every day! •Europe recycles 72% of its paper •84% of the industry’s raw materials come from Europe •Between 2005 and 2013, the CO2 emissions of the European pulp and paper industry were reduced by 22% •56% of the industry’s total primary annual energy consumption is biomass-based

Tetra Pak launches its 25th Sustainability Report, which tracks the progress the company has made against its sustainability agenda. It focuses on five interdependent areas: food systems, circularity, climate, nature and social sustainability. Launching on the United Nations’ World Environment Day on 5 June, the company’s Sustainability Report FY233 shows a 20% reduction in value chain4 GHG emissions and a 47% reduction in GHG emissions across its own operations since 2019. The latter puts Tetra Pak on track to meet its target of net zero GHG emissions in its own operations by 20305 and supports the company’s long-term ambition to work together with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders and achieve net-zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050.6 Another major milestone saw the launch of an aseptic beverage carton featuring a paper-based barrier, reducing its carbon footprint by a third (33%)7 and bringing the company a step closer to developing the world’s most sustainable food package.8 This world-first was a result of a €100 million investment in packaging research and development in 2023, with the same investment planned annually for the next five to ten years.