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ekaterra, Unilever’s Tea Division, joins calls to accelerate transformation of tea industry at COP26
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Saturday, 13 November, 2021, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Glasgow
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ekaterra, the Tea Division of Unilever, was joined by its partners at COP26, calling for greater collaboration between all actors to accelerate the transformation of the tea industry for the planet and people.
John Davison, CEO of ekaterra, speaking at the Green Zone at COP26, described plans to become climate and nature positive, setting a clear target for zero emissions by 2030.
“We are determined to transform the industry from the ground up. As the largest tea company in the world, we recognise our responsibility. It is clear from everything we have heard at COP26 that we need to go further than net zero and we need to do that as quickly as possible, working with scientists, NGOs and others in our industry,” he said.
The company’s executives, shared their vision to accelerate action towards becoming climate positive at a panel discussion at COP26, together with experts from NGOs.
Jenny Costelloe, executive director of the Ethical Tea Partnership, said, “We need action urgently. As much as 40% of tea growing is at threat from climate change. We challenge the industry to “open source” its innovation so everyone can benefit, including the 9 million livelihoods that depend on smallholdings. We need climate smart solutions that can reward sustainable practices, and drive change.”
Dr Abdul-Razak Saeed, climate policy lead at the Rainforest Alliance, said, “There is still hope – but for hope to be realised we have to start today. If we are going to continue to enjoy tea, that “cup of culture”, it is important that we think about the wider landscape, not only the farm, and have a climate strategy with clear, measurable goals for the whole eco-system.”
Ruchira Joshi, UK director of the IDH - Sustainable Trade Initiative, spoke of the need to break down silos. He said, “The pace of change is too slow. We are hearing so many pledges daily at COP26 - but the people working on the ground are not getting the funding they need for vital projects. We are working to deliver innovative finance mechanisms that translate these pledges into real action, building coalitions that can support small holder farmers.”
Leading the global tea industry with purposeful brands, including Lipton, PG tips, Pukka, T2 and TAZO, the company is one of the first major businesses to raise the bar to become climate positive while setting a clear target for net zero emissions by 2030.
The climate and nature goals of reducing emissions, restoring biodiversity and shifting fully to nature-based materials are underpinned with clear commitments:
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2030 from 2010 baseline (reduced by 66% already);
- 100% sustainably sourced teas by 2023 (98% today);
- 100% plant-based tea bags by 2025 (73% today);
- All packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025 (82% today);
- Maintain no waste to landfill from own operations;
- Regenerative agriculture deployed for raw materials sourcing by 2030.
The tea brands are already playing a pioneering role with sustainable business practices across the value chain. As the world’s largest tea brand, Lipton sources 100% of its teas globally from sustainably certified suppliers. PG tips, which was the first major brand to introduce bio-degradable tea bags in 2018, recently removed all traditional plastic from its packaging in the UK. Pukka is B-Corp certified and allocates 1% of its annual turnover to support environmental initiatives. T2 is another B-Corp certified brand affirming 100% ethical sourcing for all aspects of its business. And TAZO is campaigning boldly in the USA for climate justice by planting more trees in deprived inner urban areas in order to help clean the air.
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