Tetra Pak's A3/Speed achieves EPD certification
fastest carton aseptic filler for family packages, is the first
filling machine in the industry to receive a certified
Environmental Product Declaration (EDP).
The A3/Speed currently has pre-certification status since it the first of its kind to be covered by this system, developed by the Swedish Environmental Management Council. The filling machine will receive the final certification in one year when the product specific requirements for this product category are officially published.
"The achievement of EPD pre-certification for Tetra Pak A3/Speed is an important one for us," said Simone Pisani, environmental officer, Tetra Pak Carton Ambient. "With environmental issues becoming more and more of a strategic concern to customers, Tetra Pak views it as important to take a pro-active approach when it comes to setting industry standards when communicating the environmental performance of our products in a verified and standard way."
An EPD is defined as "quantified environmental data for a product with pre-set categories of parameters based on the ISO 14040 series of standards, but not excluding additional environmental information". The goal of EPD certification is "to encourage the demand for and supply of those products and services that cause less stress on the environment, thereby stimulating the potential for market driven continuous environmental improvement".
As a result, an EPD is increasingly being seen as an important tool to use whencommunicating the environmental performance ofproducts in business-to-business transactions. Itcontains information about the company and product, theenvironmental performance of the product as well asinformation from the company and certification body.
Tetra Pak argues that because of the nature of the certification system, customers can rely on a tool that is credible, with verification being carried out by an internationally recognised third party. The company also points out that the certification makes the product comparable to others, as it is not an eco-label stating environmental superiority but a system that establishes the level of environmental effectiveness of a particular product.
Furthermore, objectivity is assured since the environmental performance of thefilling machine, covering main operations from extraction of natural resources to the use phase of the machine, is quantified by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)approach that is in accordance with ISO 14040 standard.
The Tetra Pak A3/Speed filling machine is currently available for the popularTetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Baseline package and runs at a capacity of 12,000 packsper hour. It is available with a whole range of downstream equipment and offerscustomers a complete packaging solution including film wrapping, cardboardpacking and palletising equipment.
