The Truvia business has announced that its Truvia calorie-free sweetener has received carbon footprint certification, making it the first stevia-based sweetener to be awarded this status.
The certification arm of the UK-based Carbon Trust has certified the total greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of the supply chain, including cultivation, processing, packaging, transport and use and disposal.
Truvia is a stevia-based sugar substitute developed jointly by Coca-Cola and Cargill.
The company noted that it worked with the Carbon Trust to certify its carbon footprint and verify its waste and water footprints throughout its supply chain. The certified metrics are part of an action plan to manage the carbon footprint of the Truvia stevia leaf extract, in order to become carbon neutral by 2020.
Since the baseline assessment was conducted in 2011, the business has already reduced the CO2-equivalent per metric ton of "sweet" by 35% during the second recorded period ending December 2012, resulting primarily from improvements made to the leaf extraction process. These findings indicate the business is on track to deliver on its interim 2015 milestone goals.
Truvia brand products director Mark Brooks said the certification is an indication of the Truvia brand's commitment to meeting its sustainability goals.
As a part of the certification, the Truvia business has signed up to use the carbon reduction label in the future. By displaying this label, which in this case covers UK, USA, Mexico, Spain, France, Italy, the Truvia brand plans to reduce the carbon footprint of its sweetener over a two year period.
The company plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% in 2015; to ensure all processed water is returned to the same quality in which it was taken and the reduce net depletion by 25%; and reduce waste by 50% across its supply chain in 2015.
