Consumers in region ‘becoming aware of environmental issues’

STOCKHOLM: More brands are now choosing responsibly sourced Tetra Pak packages with the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) label in the greater Mideast and Africa region, according to top executives.
Tetra Pak has reported a rise in the number of companies in the region selling products in Tetra Pak packages that carry the FSC label, they told a group of journalists from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey visiting Tetra Pak's facilities in Sweden.
The company boosted the deployment rate of FSC-labeled packages in the region from 2.2 percent to 6.7 percent last year as manufacturers start to meet consumer demand for sustainable packaging.
Abdullah Hassan, Tetra Pak's communication manager for Arabia area, said: “Consumers in the region are gradually becoming aware of environmental issues."
He added: "Companies need a clear label on their package to communicate their commitment to the environment in a straight-forward way, and we are happy to support our customers with responsible sourcing and labeling. The FSC logo is widely recognized by consumers, enabling them to choose brands that are driving sustainable forestry."
“Our customers in South Africa, Turkey and Saudi Arabia were among the first in the region to deploy FSC-labeled packages,” the manager said.
He said Tetra Pak's factories and market companies in the Greater Middle East and Africa region are all certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
By 2015, Tetra Pak had deployed around 1.9 billion packs of FSC certified packages in GME&A.
FSC, founded in 1994 by a group of non-governmental organizations, timber users and traders, is widely recognized as the highest global certification standard for forest management.
For a product to carry the FSC label, there must be an unbroken chain of custody certification for all relevant sites.
Tetra Pak has completed the certification for all converting plants and market companies and can supply FSC-labeled packages from anywhere in the world, including all sites in the Greater Middle East and Africa region.
Driving environment excellence is one of Tetra Pak’s strategic priorities.
As part of this agenda, the long term ambition is to deliver all packages with the FSC label.
The company has delivered 54 billion FSC-labelled packages to its customers globally in 2015 alone.
Tetra Pak is the world's leading food processing and packaging solutions company. Working closely with our customers and suppliers,
Tetra Pak provides safe, innovative and environmentally sound products that each day meet the needs of hundreds of millions of people in more than 170 countries around the world.
With more than 23,000 employees based in over 80 countries, Tetra Pak believes in responsible industry leadership and a sustainable approach to business.