Packaging giant Tetra Pak now obtains 50 percent of its global electricity supply from renewable sources, the business said Tuesday.

The landmark figure comes as the business works towards a goal of using 100 percent renewable electricity across all of its global operations by 2030.



Tetra Pak said its renewable electricity use had grown from 20 percent in 2016 to 50 percent today. The rise is a result of several factors, such as solar power installations at its facilities and the purchase of International Renewable Energy Certificates, or I-RECs. A renewable energy certificate is important because, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts it, they “substantiate renewable electricity use claims.”



“Using renewable energy is an important part of our journey to reduce the carbon impact of our own operations and so help tackle climate change,” Mario Abreu, Tetra Pak’s vice president of sustainability, said in a statement.



“Through the purchase of renewable energy certificates, we are investing in the development of infrastructure to increase the availability of renewable electricity,” he added. “Meanwhile, we are also exploring opportunities to scale up our own on-site solar power installations.”



Tetra Pak is among a number of global businesses looking to embrace renewable energy. Last October, for example, Amazon announced that its biggest wind farm to date was operational. The business said that Amazon Wind Farm Texas, which is located in Scurry County, would add over 1 million megawatt hours of clean energy to the grid annually.



Tetra Pak is also a member of the RE100, a global initiative made up of some of the world's biggest companies, all committed to 100 percent renewable power. Other members of the RE100 include Ikea, Facebook and Mars.