Beverages — Carton / Tetra Pak (1L)

Material Composition Assumptions

The default bill of materials for a standard 1L aseptic beverage carton (e.g., Tetra Brik Aseptic, approximately 26–28 g total) includes:

• Paperboard: Approximately 74–75% by mass (~20 g). Liquid packaging board (LPB) — a bleached kraft pulp board, typically from FSC-certified or PEFC-certified forests. Provides structural rigidity.
• Polyethylene (PE) layers: Approximately 21–22% by mass (~6 g). Multiple thin extrusion-coated layers on interior and exterior surfaces. Provides moisture barrier and heat-seal capability.
• Aluminum foil: Approximately 4–5% by mass (~1.2 g). Present in aseptic formats only (not chilled cartons). Acts as oxygen and light barrier, enabling shelf-stable storage without refrigeration.
• Printing inks: Approximately 0.5% by mass. Water-based or UV-cured inks for branding and consumer information.

The carton is a composite (multi-material) laminate, which makes end-of-life recycling more technically complex than mono-material packaging. Specialist recycling processes (e.g., hydropulping to recover fibre, with residue used for energy) are required to separate the material layers.

Chilled formats (e.g., Elopak Pure-Pak for fresh milk) omit the aluminum foil layer, reducing per-unit emissions by approximately 15–20% and simplifying recyclability.

Manufacturing Geography

Tetra Pak, the dominant global carton supplier, is headquartered in Sweden and operates packaging material factories across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. The carton sleeve is typically manufactured centrally and shipped to local filling plants operated by food and beverage producers.

• Paperboard: Sourced from Northern European and North American pulp mills. Key producers include Stora Enso (Finland/Sweden) and BillerudKorsnäs (Sweden).
• PE resin: Petrochemical-derived; global supply chains centred on Middle East, USA, and Europe. Sugarcane-derived bio-based PE is available (Tetra Pak offers this as an option) and reduces fossil carbon content.
• Aluminum foil: Produced from primary or secondary aluminum, typically in Europe.
• Filling plant: Highly geographically dispersed — filling happens locally in virtually every country. Filling energy contributes to Scope 2 but is a small share of total emissions.

The default score is representative of a global mix. The Sweden-headquartered Tetra Pak supply chain benefits from access to low-carbon Nordic electricity for some manufacturing stages.

Regional Variation

Region	Filling Plant Grid	Estimated Score Adjustment
Sweden/Nordic	~13 gCO2e/kWh	-5% total (saves ~0.004 kgCO2e)
EU average	~300 gCO2e/kWh	Baseline (~0 adjustment)
USA average	~390 gCO2e/kWh	+2% total (adds ~0.002 kgCO2e)
China	~565 gCO2e/kWh	+4% total (adds ~0.003 kgCO2e)
India	~700 gCO2e/kWh	+5% total (adds ~0.004 kgCO2e)

Note: Scope 2 (filling and conversion electricity) accounts for only ~6% of total emissions, so grid variation at the filling plant has a minimal effect on the total score. The dominant driver is Scope 3 — upstream material production, particularly paperboard and PE. Regional variation for cartons is therefore much narrower than for aluminum or glass packaging.

Provenance Override Guidance

A supplier or manufacturer may override the default CCI score by submitting:

1. Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) per ISO 14025 covering the specific carton format (volume, wall construction, aseptic vs. chilled) and production batch. Tetra Pak, SIG, and Elopak all publish EPDs for major SKUs.
2. Paperboard origin and certification documentation — FSC-certified or PEFC-certified board with verified chain-of-custody reduces land-use change risk and may affect biogenic carbon accounting.
3. Bio-based PE certification — If sugarcane-derived PE is used, ISCC or Bonsucro certification documentation reduces the fossil PE emission factor.
4. Aluminum foil content reduction data — Thinner gauge foil or alternative barrier technologies (e.g., EVOH, metallised PET) affect the aluminum hotspot.
5. Recycling infrastructure data — If the product is sold in a market with verified carton recycling infrastructure (collection rates, hydropulping capacity), a system-expansion credit may be applicable under certain LCA frameworks.

Methodology Notes

• CCI score of 0.08 kgCO2e represents a global-average estimate for a standard 1L aseptic carton. This is consistent with published Tetra Pak EPD data (0.06–0.09 kgCO2e) and independent IVL research.
• Scope breakdown: Scope 3 (upstream materials) dominates at ~84% (0.067 kgCO2e), driven by paperboard, PE, and aluminum foil production. Scope 2 (filling and conversion electricity) accounts for ~13% (0.01 kgCO2e). Scope 1 (direct process emissions at the filling plant) is minimal at ~4% (0.003 kgCO2e).
• Functional unit: One 1L aseptic beverage carton (Tetra Brik Aseptic or equivalent), cradle-to-gate. Chilled formats without aluminum foil will score approximately 15–20% lower.
• Lowest footprint beverage container: On a per-litre basis, cartons consistently score lower than glass, aluminum cans (at equivalent volume), and PET bottles in cradle-to-gate LCAs. The combination of low unit mass (~27 g), high paperboard share (a biogenic material with lower processing energy), and efficient aseptic filling contributes to this advantage.
• Confidence is medium because the composite multi-material structure creates data challenges — particularly for the aluminum foil layer, where primary vs. secondary content and foil gauge vary by supplier and format.
• Biogenic carbon: The paperboard component stores biogenic carbon temporarily during its lifecycle. Accounting for biogenic carbon uptake (per PAS 2050 Annex C or ISO 14067 biogenic carbon rules) would further reduce the net score, but the CCI methodology conservatively excludes biogenic carbon credits.