Tetra Pak today unveils its ‘Factory Sustainable Solutions’ offering, a new factory-wide approach to energy, water and cleaning-in-place (CIP) optimisation.

A new offer within Tetra Pak’s broader sustainability portfolio, the ‘Factory Sustainable Solutions’ business offers Food and Beverage (F&B) producers a tailored blend of state-of-the-art technologies and leading plant integration capabilities. It seeks to support F&B producers in optimising energy and resource consumption, an important step in helping customers meet their sustainability ambitions and reduce operational costs.

Traditionally reliant on fossil fuels and energy-intensive processes,[1] F&B producers are under increasing pressure to optimise resources and increase energy generation from renewable sources. This comes amidst rising operational expenses, including the cost of raw materials, as well as new CO2 taxes and fees for wasted water. Finding solutions to these challenges will be key, with businesses looking to their supply chains and manufacturing processes to help achieve cost savings[2]. 

Complementing its resource-efficient equipment and services portfolio, Tetra Pak’s ‘Factory Sustainable Solutions’ embodies a systematic, factory-wide approach. Solutions can be integrated at any stage to recover and reduce the consumption of resources, such as energy, water and chemicals. Optimised resource consumption reduces long-term operational costs[3] and related greenhouse gas emissions[4], whilst supporting compliance against ever-tightening sustainability standards.

The Tetra Pak Factory Sustainable Solutions team will support customers by finding the right technologies and integration solutions for their needs, advising them on the best practice set-up for their line or facility. This results in a tailored pipes and installation diagram that optimises water, energy and CIP according to the specific needs of the customer’s operations.

The ‘Factory Sustainable Solutions’ offering boasts state-of-the-art technologies, such as:

• Nanofiltration, developed by Tetra Pak, which reclaims caustic cleaning liquid used for CIP. This technology allows for the recovery of clean chemicals and water for future re-use, enabling up to 90% recovery of the total spent liquid[5].
• Reverse Osmosis, developed by Tetra Pak, uses proprietary membrane filtration technology to improve resource efficiency across multiple applications, including milk separation and water re-use.

Tetra Pak is also collaborating with innovative technology partners to offer additional solutions, including:

• HighLift™ heat pump technology, in collaboration with Olvondo Technology A/S, which can be integrated into operations to facilitate the reuse of waste heat to produce steam across plant equipment, including the Tetra Pak Direct UHT unit, at pressures up to 10 bar. 
• High temperature heat pumps, in collaboration with Johnson Controls, which up-cycles process waste heat to use elsewhere in the factory.
• Solar thermal collectors, in collaboration with Absolicon, which utilise the sun as an unlimited source of clean and renewable energy, to power the delivery of hot water and steam – at temperatures above 150°C – making it suitable for UHT applications.

Stefano Vittor, CEO at Olvondo Technology A/S, says “By incorporating our HighLift heat pump technology into its Factory Sustainable Solutions business, Tetra Pak is offering an impactful solution to reduce carbon emissions across the food and beverage industry. We’re delighted to be part of this collaboration and to play a role in the change that Tetra Pak is driving.”

Fredrik Norrbom, Director, Sweden at Johnson Controls System and Service AB added: “Approximately two-thirds of industrial energy use is driven by heat demand, derived largely from fossil fuels[6]. Heat pumps are vital for increasing energy efficiency and delivering net zero heating when combined with renewable electricity. We are proud to collaborate with Tetra Pak on smart building solutions that can help customers achieve sustainability targets while also helping industry make critical progress on emissions reduction.”

Nicole Uvenbeck, Director Factory Sustainable Solutions and OEM Components at Tetra Pak says: “ This launch is an incredibly exciting and significant milestone for us at Tetra Pak - especially our team who have been working hard to push the boundaries of the impact and value such an approach can bring for our customers.

To date, we have mainly focused on machine and line optimisation, and we came to realise the overwhelming benefit of replicating this at a factory level, providing a more holistic approach to optimisation. Factory Sustainable Solutions is an evolution of our expertise, spanning water, energy and CIP recovery. All of this combined will redefine how we support our customers in achieving their sustainability ambitions, while reducing their operational costs.”

Fiona Liebehenz, Vice President Key Components, Plant Solutions and Channel Management at Tetra Pak says: “I’m extremely proud of the team. We know that our customers are under pressure more than ever to operate as efficiently as possible when it comes to resource usage. This is, for many, an existential challenge to secure the future of their operations. Through working with them and understanding their individual needs and objectives, we’re providing them fit-for-purpose equipment enriched with our holistic food & beverages application knowledge to address that challenge, delivering tangible improvements in a way that is financially advantageous.”

The business launches today, with Tetra Pak’s Factory Sustainable Solutions expertise and advisory available globally. Tetra Pak’s goal is to continue to develop and expand the offering across all markets, in response to the ever-evolving needs of customers.

[1] A substantial portion of the energy used in food and beverage manufacturing comes from fossil fuels, primarily natural gas, according to the Food & Drink Federation’s “Achieving Net Zero: A Handbook For The Food And Drink Sector

[2] BCG, “The CEO’s Guide to Costs and Growth”, March 2024 https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/what-leaders-are-saying-about-costs-and-growth

[3] McKinsey & Company, Operations-driven Sustainability, August 2020, https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/operations-driven-sustainability

[4] IEA (2022), Global Methane Tracker 2022, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2022, Licence: CC BY 4.

[5] Resource-saving filtration solutions | Tetra Pak Global

[6] IEA (2018), Clean and efficient heat for industry  - Clean and efficient heat for industry – Analysis - IEA

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