World Wildlife Fund

Washington, DC - Tetra Pak and WWF today signed a three year agreement to cooperate to improve management of the world's forests and to reduce industrial emissions contributing to climate change. Under the agreement, Tetra Pak will take steps to strengthen its purchasing of forest-based products from well-managed forests and to reduce its CO2 emissions over the next five years by an absolute 10 percent.

"We are delighted that an influential global company like Tetra Pak is working with us to further strengthen its environmental performance and serve as a model for other companies," said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US. "We believe this collaboration will prove that well-managed resources are key to reversing the degradation of our planet's natural environment and to building a future in which human and business needs are met in harmony with nature."

"WWF is at the forefront of creative efforts to address environmental threats such as deforestation and climate change," said Claes Du Rietz, Vice President of Tetra Pak's Global Environment Department. "We have seen that Tetra Pak's goals, and WWF's, are converging - and we want to leverage this convergence to ensure that Tetra Pak is a leader in bringing about a world based on the responsible use of renewable resources."

Tetra Pak is the global leader in sales of paperboard aseptic packaging material for a wide range of food products including dairy products, juices, and soups. Tetra Pak in the U.S. has manufacturing and distribution facilities in Texas, California, Washington, Indiana, and Missouri. The three year project will demonstrate the benefits of using renewable resources and promote responsible forest management practices and governance. The agreement will lead to the creation of a resource center that will be a global source of expertise on forest conservation and the use of responsibly-produced forest-based materials. Tetra Pak will also take steps to strengthen its own procurement of forest products from well-managed forests and support the Global Forest & Trade Network, an initiative between WWF and the forest products industry to eliminate illegal logging and improve the management of valuable and threatened forests.

In addition to cooperating with WWF on forests, Tetra Pak will take steps to reduce its CO2 emissions over the next five years by 10 percent in absolute terms through a reduction in total energy use and an increase in the proportion of energy it uses produced from clean energy sources. Tetra Pak will join WWF's Climate Savers program and work to demonstrate strategies for linking improved environmental and economic performance.

"This relationship will take Tetra Pak and WWF further then they could go on their own," said Roberts. "Tetra Pak can be a transformational force in the world, and we want to be there with them in developing industry practices to solving global problems."