329: How do you make a global food processing and packaging company sustainable?
Sustainability has become a key goal for so many companies in the food and drink industry, but how do you go about actually making your business more sustainable? It is clear that the food system has plenty of work to do in this area, but what is equally clear is that many things are already being achieved. In this episode of the Food Matters Live podcast, made in partnership with Tetra Pak, we dive into the company's 2022 Sustainability Report, and learn the secrets of an organisation identified as one of the 50 leading companies in the world for sustainability. How do you react to sustainability challenges when you are a vast, global organisation, with hundreds of millions of people relying on your products each day? Tetra Pak says sustainability has been at the heart of the business throughout its 70-year history, and that means it is built into the company's ethos. But things have changed over the decades, and sustainability priorities throughout the world have moved on from where they were in the middle of the 20th Century. The headline figure in Tetra Pak's 2022 Sustainability Report is that it achieved a 36% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions linked to its operations in 2021. So, how did the company do it? There are obvious challenges around packaging for an organisation like Tetra Pak. What innovations are helping with its sustainability goals? Sustainability is not simply about reducing carbon emissions. One of the commitments in the report is 'acting for nature' - what does that mean, and how does it play out in real life? Listen to the full episode to get answers to those questions, and learn about Tetra Pak's land restoration initiative in Brazil, how a sustainability agenda can boost innovation, and the company's progress towards resilient and sustainable food systems. . Lisa Rydén, Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility, Tetra Pak Lisa and her team are driving excellence in the company’s sustainability approach linked to the brand pillars ‘Food, People, Planet’ and ensuring progress towards Tetra Pak’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Lisa is engaged in several industry coalitions and platforms driving joint actions and collaboration in different areas of sustainability. Lisa is a Swedish citizen, based in Lund. She holds an MSc in Industrial Management and Engineering from Lund University. She completed the Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme in 2016 at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Lisa joined Tetra Pak in 2005 and has previously held positions within R&D and Services as well as being globally responsible for Recyclability and Recycling Technologies. Previous Tetra Pak episodes Is collaboration the key to the future of food? Plant-based? Healthy? Sustainable? How ice cream is changing