To build climate resilience, start with food

As London Climate Action Week brings together leaders from across Europe and beyond, the urgency of climate action is unmistakable. What matters now is not adding new targets but making choices that have a measurable impact on reducing emissions and building food system resilience.

Food systems are where climate impacts are felt most immediately. When food prices rise, when supply chains falter, when waste increases, the effects reach households, public services and political trust at once. That is precisely why food systems are also where climate policy can deliver visible progress in a sector fundamental to daily life.

Focus is the only credible climate strategy

Neither companies nor policymakers can do everything at once. Climate action only works when it is focused on the areas of greatest impact.

For companies, that means prioritizing the parts of the value chain where we have expertise, responsibility and scale. For policymakers, it means enabling action where regulation and investment can unlock near-term emission reductions.

At Tetra Pak, we take a food systems perspective. We do not farm, and we cannot control weather patterns. Our responsibility sits at the factory level, where processing and packaging facilities turn raw agricultural materials into food products at scale, shaping efficiency, resource use and emissions. That is where we can act decisively, and where policy can accelerate change.

"Food systems do not end at the farm gate. Processing, packaging and distribution shape energy use, food loss and resource efficiency".

Our Sustainability Report reflects this discipline. In 2025 we reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 56 percent in our own operations and by 34 percent across our value chain compared with a 2019 baseline. Across our sites, 97 percent of electricity consumption was from renewable sources and we remain on track to achieve net-zero emissions in our own operations by 2030, guided by targets approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

These outcomes did not come from trying to act everywhere at once. They came from focusing on what delivers impact at scale.

High-impact opportunities sit beyond the farm gate, and dairy shows what is possible

Agriculture is the foundation of food security, and climate-resilient agriculture remains essential. But food systems do not end at the farm gate. Processing, packaging and distribution shape energy use, food loss and resource efficiency. This industrial middle of the food system is often overlooked in climate debates, yet it is where many practical decarbonization decisions can be implemented using existing technologies.

Our Dairy Processing Impact Assessment, independently reviewed by the Carbon Trust, shows what focused action can deliver. Dairy is central to European diets and rural economies, and dairy production is energy intensive. The study found that modernizing existing dairy processing equipment could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 49 percent, alongside potential reductions in water use of around 45 percent and product losses of more than 50 percent.

These are not distant or theoretical gains. They come from upgrading existing infrastructure, improving energy efficiency and reducing waste. At a time of high energy costs and operational volatility, these improvements strengthen resilience while cutting emissions. This is exactly the kind of progress that can be delivered at scale when policy enables investment in modernization rather than delaying it.

Packaging and circularity are practical climate levers

Food loss and waste remain one of the largest sources of avoidable emissions. Packaging is part of the solution because it protects food, extends shelf life and prevents waste.

Life cycle assessments show that in applications for perishable foods such as milk, carton packaging, which is primarily made from paper, can have a lower climate impact than packaging formats that rely mainly on fossil-based materials. By protecting perishable food and enabling distribution without refrigeration, cartons can help reduce emissions while supporting food safety and access to nutrition.

"Circularity depends on collection and recycling systems that work in practice, and on regulatory frameworks that are clear, enforceable and applied consistently across the European single market".

Packaging choices shape climate outcomes not only during use, but also at the end of life, depending on whether valuable materials can remain in circulation.

Our Sustainability Report shows how circularity starts with Design for Recycling principles, including increasing paper content to make packaging easier to recycle. But design alone is not enough. Circularity depends on collection and recycling systems that work in practice, and on regulatory frameworks that are clear, enforceable and applied consistently across the European single market.

Policy can unlock system-wide impact if it enables systems change

Policy can accelerate decarbonization when it focuses on how food systems operate in practice. Clear and predictable frameworks enable companies to invest in upgrading processing and packaging facilities, improving energy efficiency and reducing waste across existing infrastructure. Circular economy policies are most effective when they ensure that fees are reinvested in collection, sorting and recycling systems that operate at scale. Food security is best protected when essential food infrastructure is recognized, supported and modernized so it can continue to operate reliably during disruptions.

Europe is beginning to move in this direction. The EU Critical Entities Resilience Directive recognizes food production, processing and packaging as essential services. As member states move toward implementation, there is an opportunity to align decarbonization with the modernization and long‑term reliability of food infrastructure.

By Gilles Tisserand, Vice President Sustainability Excellence, Tetra Pak