Technological watch
Brazilian resilience
Julian Fox, Director Nature Programmes, Tetra Pak, speaks to Rob Coker about the ambitious Araucaria Project, which aims to restore 7,000 hectares of lost rainforest in Brazil.
There must be some pretty impressive scientific and academic members joining Tetra Pak in the consortium'Absolutely, our partners are essential to the success of this initiative. They have the technical and scientific knowledge and expertise necessary for the management and monitoring of all actions and results in the short, medium and long term.
Our leading partner is Apremavi, a civil society organisation working with conservation and restoration projects since 1987 and has planted more than 8.5 million native trees. Apremavi’s long-term expertise has been essential to informing our work. In addition, the seedlings used in the restoration project are all produced in the Apremavi nursery, which has more than 200 native species of the Atlantic Forest.
Other key strategic partners are Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Brazil, both internationally recognised NGOs that bring credibility and knowledge in environmental restoration and carbon offset projects. Both entities have been instrumental in establishing the Conservador da Mantiqueira, an organisation that has promoted the restoration of Serra da Mantiqueira since 2015 in alignment with the Pact for the Restoration of the Atlantic Forest. Representatives from Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Brazil are part of the Stakeholder Board of the Araucaria Conservation programme.
× GLENER UEHARA
Brazilian resilience Finally, our supplier and partner Klabin has been heavily involved, acting as a catalyst in this initiative. Klabin has been working with Tetra Pak for several years and is an expert in the execution of environmental restoration programmes, including ‘Matas Legais’ (‘Legal Forests’ – a reference to the legal obligation under the Brazilian Forest Code to maintain 20% of land owned with native vegetation preserved), ‘Matas Socias’ (‘Social Forests’, which is aimed at improving the life of those who live and work on the land ), and another initiative aiming to remove invasive species from to allow natural regeneration.
What part will Tetra Pak play exactly' What part will you play as director of Nature Programmes at Tetra Pak' As well as financing the project, Tetra Pak is playing an active role in co-ordinating work that, over ten years, aims to restore at least 7,000 hectares of the Atlantic Forest and certify 13.7 million hectares, equivalent to the area of England. The objective is to facilitate the realisation of other projects of this nature and leave a legacy of environmental conservation of this biome. In my role, I will be responsible for ensuring this is carried out efficiently and that deadlines and targets are met whilst managing stakeholder and partner relations.
There are those outside the packaging industry that may be critical or sceptical of Tetra Pak’s involvement in such a project given the company’s use of materials such as plastics and paper/cardboard. What would your message to those be' Brazilian resilience Julian Fox
While Tetra Pak does not own or manage any forests or plantations, we want to ensure that biodiversity, healthy ecosystems, high conservation values and responsible management practices exist across all land in our value chain. Therefore, we are committed to sustainable sourcing to protect biodiversity, by means of full traceability, certification and third-party verification, and no direct or indirect negative land use change.
Tetra Pak has been recognised for leadership in corporate sustainability by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its prestigious ‘A List’ for the third year running for tackling climate change, as well as acting to protect forests – two of the three environmental themes covered by CDP. With this accolade, Tetra Pak cements its position as the only company in the carton packaging sector to be included in the CDP leadership band for six years in a row. CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognised as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency.
Looking forward to 2030, we aim to do more. Our goals are to go above and beyond certification and expand partnerships to protect biodiversity, and make a positive impact and lead by example in forest protection and restoration.
We believe a step change is needed, given the rapid deterioration of our planet and the growing population. We also know we cannot resolve this challenge in isolation, and the
There must be some pretty impressive scientific and academic members joining Tetra Pak in the consortium'Absolutely, our partners are essential to the success of this initiative. They have the technical and scientific knowledge and expertise necessary for the management and monitoring of all actions and results in the short, medium and long term.
Our leading partner is Apremavi, a civil society organisation working with conservation and restoration projects since 1987 and has planted more than 8.5 million native trees. Apremavi’s long-term expertise has been essential to informing our work. In addition, the seedlings used in the restoration project are all produced in the Apremavi nursery, which has more than 200 native species of the Atlantic Forest.
Other key strategic partners are Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Brazil, both internationally recognised NGOs that bring credibility and knowledge in environmental restoration and carbon offset projects. Both entities have been instrumental in establishing the Conservador da Mantiqueira, an organisation that has promoted the restoration of Serra da Mantiqueira since 2015 in alignment with the Pact for the Restoration of the Atlantic Forest. Representatives from Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Brazil are part of the Stakeholder Board of the Araucaria Conservation programme.
× GLENER UEHARA
Brazilian resilience Finally, our supplier and partner Klabin has been heavily involved, acting as a catalyst in this initiative. Klabin has been working with Tetra Pak for several years and is an expert in the execution of environmental restoration programmes, including ‘Matas Legais’ (‘Legal Forests’ – a reference to the legal obligation under the Brazilian Forest Code to maintain 20% of land owned with native vegetation preserved), ‘Matas Socias’ (‘Social Forests’, which is aimed at improving the life of those who live and work on the land ), and another initiative aiming to remove invasive species from to allow natural regeneration.
What part will Tetra Pak play exactly' What part will you play as director of Nature Programmes at Tetra Pak' As well as financing the project, Tetra Pak is playing an active role in co-ordinating work that, over ten years, aims to restore at least 7,000 hectares of the Atlantic Forest and certify 13.7 million hectares, equivalent to the area of England. The objective is to facilitate the realisation of other projects of this nature and leave a legacy of environmental conservation of this biome. In my role, I will be responsible for ensuring this is carried out efficiently and that deadlines and targets are met whilst managing stakeholder and partner relations.
There are those outside the packaging industry that may be critical or sceptical of Tetra Pak’s involvement in such a project given the company’s use of materials such as plastics and paper/cardboard. What would your message to those be' Brazilian resilience Julian Fox
While Tetra Pak does not own or manage any forests or plantations, we want to ensure that biodiversity, healthy ecosystems, high conservation values and responsible management practices exist across all land in our value chain. Therefore, we are committed to sustainable sourcing to protect biodiversity, by means of full traceability, certification and third-party verification, and no direct or indirect negative land use change.
Tetra Pak has been recognised for leadership in corporate sustainability by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its prestigious ‘A List’ for the third year running for tackling climate change, as well as acting to protect forests – two of the three environmental themes covered by CDP. With this accolade, Tetra Pak cements its position as the only company in the carton packaging sector to be included in the CDP leadership band for six years in a row. CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognised as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency.
Looking forward to 2030, we aim to do more. Our goals are to go above and beyond certification and expand partnerships to protect biodiversity, and make a positive impact and lead by example in forest protection and restoration.
We believe a step change is needed, given the rapid deterioration of our planet and the growing population. We also know we cannot resolve this challenge in isolation, and the
This project has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 837761.
