Magazine

103 Tetra Pak 2014 

Tetra Pak 

Magazine 

Theme: Water 

No. 

103 

2014

Tetra Pak Magazine No.103 2014, ISSN 0346-3044. 

The Tetra Pak Group’s International Company Magazine is produced in Sweden. The magazine is distributed to more than 

150 countries and is available in Chinese, English, Finnish, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and selected 

issues in Japanese. Publisher: Christopher Huntley. Editor: Julie Trolley. Editorial board: Vincent Michelet, Carol Yang, 

Paul Wharton, Rolf Viberg, Julie Trolley. Produced by: Tetra Pak International, Ruben Rausings gata, 221 86 Lund, Sweden. 

Tel +39 059 898361, E-mail julie.trolley@tetrapak.com . Graphic design: Wahlgren & Hansson, Malmö, Sweden, www.woh.se. 

Cover Image: Gettyimages/ Christopher Pillitz Paper Cover: Arctic paper/Amber Graphic, 240 g. Paper Body: Arctic paper/Amber Graphic, 120 g. 

Print: ExaktaPrinting Malmö, Sweden. ISO 14001 and FSC Certificates.

TETRA PAK Magazine 

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Content No 103 

2. Earth: the water planet 4. The fast-turning waterwheels of agriculture and industry 8. The planet´s dwindling 

water supply 13. Thirsty for change 16. Water warriors 18. Water: The most critical asset in your 

production strategy 22. Access to safe water worldwide 24. A global thirst for designer water 

28. Exploration and trade 30. How water turned hunter-gatherers into farmers and engineers 

32. There’s no place like Home 36. Liquid Love

2 TETRA PAK Magazine 

Evaporation from the sea Rain from the cloud Winds 

©Lucky Look/Alamy /Robert Fried 

Groundwater returns to the sea 

Earth: 

the water 

planet 

Water 

is a significant feature of our planet; perhaps one 

of its most distinguishing characteristics. But just because 

water is prominent on Earth does not mean that 

fresh water supplies are endless. Fresh water is actually 

quite limited. Humans use a lot of it – so much that 

we, as a species, have come to literally dominate the 

planet’s water cycle, crowding out other species and 

putting ourselves in jeopardy. For the benefit of future 

generations, we need to develop an entirely different 

relationship to the water cycle – one of vastly increased 

efficiency and long-term stewardship.


3 

Precipitation Winds Evaporation Precipitation 

How much water do humans need? 

A commonly used estimate of the average amount of water 

ingested by a person in a day is two litres. This means that 

the average person ingests 730 litres per year. The entire 

human population thus takes in about 5.2 trillion litres, or 

5.2 cubic km. Imagine a huge cube of water that's a little 

under two km wide, two km deep and one and a half km high 

– that’s how much water humanity drinks and eats in a year! 

Although, when you consider that Peru and Bolivia’s Lake 

Titicaca contains 893 cubic km, America’s Lake Superior 

contains 11,600 cubic km, and Russia’s Lake Baikal – the 

biggest - contains 23,615 cubic km, you realise that humanity’s 

drinking water needs are just a drop in the bucket compared 

to even the little portion of the Earth’s water that is fresh. So 

why is it that we have a water problem? Surely all we need is 

a small lake?


©Shutterstock 

©Shutterstock ©Lucky Look/Alamy/Tim Gainey 

We use so much water! Where? The answer involves agriculture and 

industry. By comparison, all our showering, laundry-washing, lawnwatering 

and other individual water consumption accounts for a 

relatively modest share of annual per-capita water use. 

©Shutterstock


5 

The fast-turning 

waterwheels of 

agriculture and industry 

Agriculture is number one 

Agriculture, which uses over two-thirds of all freshwater 

withdrawals, occupies 14 out of the top 15 sectors of production 

in terms of litres per unit of economic value generated. 

Number 1 is cereal grain production, followed by cotton, 

sugar, tree nuts, and fruit. In fact, the only industrial use in 

the top 15 is energy production and distribution at number 7. 

In other words, most of the water that humanity uses 

goes to produce food, fibre, animal feed, and to some 

extent fuel – through agriculture. It’s interesting, to discover 

that producing a kilogram of beef requires thousands of 

litres of freshwater and a cup of coffee or a soft drink well 

over 100 litres.


Industry drives towardS greater water 

efficiency 

In industry, water can be used in a vast range of ways: as a 

solvent, a coolant, a high-pressure cleaning tool, a cleanser, 

a hydraulic fluid, and more. Around a decade ago, when water 

prices were lower and awareness limited, water was used in 

industrial processes with little restraint. Today, we are more 

careful, with water prices and awareness both rising steadily. 

Many multinational corporations have developed a corporate 

water strategy, which includes a mixture of technical efficiency 

initiatives, supply assurance and stakeholder relations. Car 

production for instance may not come to mind as a waterintensive 

industry and yet from 2000 to 2011, this approach 

enabled one renowned car manufacturer to reduce water 

consumption from 9,8 to 4,7 cubic metres per car produced 

globally and achieve a total annual reduction of 60%, or 

almost 38 million cubic meters. And Facebook just started 

reporting the water it uses indirectly through the lifecycles 

of the energy it purchases. 

Tetra Pak Processing rises to the challenge 

Operating in the food processing and packaging business 

means a lot of water consumption to keep the business 

going, both technically and hygienically. 

Tetra Tebel Alfomatic cheddaring machine, rinse water can now be 

recovered and recycled. 

Tetra Pak is constantly working hard to find innovative 

solutions to help its customers save water and improve 

their production processes. For instance, thanks to the novel 

filtration unit available for the Tetra Tebel Alfomatic cheddaring 

machine, approximately 40% of the total water it uses can now 

be recovered and recycled during all of the various rinsing 

phases. In the case of one large producer in France, where 

some 1,1 million litres of milk are processed to make 

mozzarella cheese, this translates in to around a saving of 

50,000 litres of water every day. 

That’s a lot of water! 

Saving water in the land of the Nile 

Innovations from Tetra Pak Processing are saving Faragalla in Egypt 

600,000 litres of water per day – according to FAO, that's equivalent 

to the daily water requirement for around 200,000 people. 

©Shutterstock

©Tetra Pak Image Bank


The planet´s dwindling 

water supply 

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and today’s global 

water challenges obey this principle. 

W 

©Lucky Look/Alamy

ater 

H O 

2 

The depletion of the aquifers 

In many parts of the world, expanding human populations 

and agricultural production rely on “fossil water” - water that 

has accumulated over millennia in aquifers deep underground 

– and this is rapidly being depleted as wells pump it 


to be expected. The USA however, is home to less than 5% 

of the human population yet extracts nearly as much water 

as the other two. The reason? Large agro-industrial production 

and a huge food export base that supplies countries in almost 

to the surface. 

every part of the globe. In short, providing food to communities 

worldwide is taking its toll on the once abundant underground 

Examples of aquifer depletion can be seen in the USA, India, 

water resources. And yet, ironically, one of the greatest 

and China. India extracts more water than any other nation 

problems of fossil water depletion is the negative effect it is 

from wells and aquifers, and China is not far behind with the 

having on global food supply. Grain yields are falling all over 

vast bulk being used for agriculture - often rather inefficiently. 

the world as a consequence of shrinking aquifers. 

Each of these nations has about one-fifth of the world’s 

population, so their high water extraction rates are probably 

9 

What is an aquifer? 

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or 

unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt) from which groundwater 

can be extracted using a water well. They can occur at various depths. 

Those closer to the surface are likely to be used for water supply and 

irrigation, and also more likely to be topped up by the local rainfall.



A key goal here is to use less water by putting it only where it’s 

needed and drip irrigation is one good measure. 

Peak water – a threat to our 

future? 

Unlike fossil fuels, fossil water is a 

renewable resource. However, given 

the limited technology we have at 

hand today, we could be approaching 

the point where the extraction of fossil 

water is reaching its peak; it may never 

yield as much again. So the question 

is, what happens next? 

Some ideas that offer a 

way forward: 

• Greater agricultural efficiency 

The goal here is to use less water 

by putting it only where it’s needed, 

minimizing the amount of water that’s 

lost to evaporation, consumption by 

weeds, leakages and other such losses. 

Measures include drip irrigation, 

deeper mulching/compost application, 

greenhouses and hoop houses, as well 

as introducing hardier crops. 

• Dryfarming in California 

One small scale, but shining example 

of efficient water use is at this vineyard 

in Santa Barbara County, California. 

The grapes at Condor’s Hope are 

nurtured solely by rainwater; no other 

irrigation methods are used. 

Dryfarming means planting droughtresistant 

crops and maintaining a fine 

surface soil or mulch that protects 

the natural moisture of the soil from 

evaporation. 

• Reforestation 

Planting trees allows soils to retain 

more rainwater and recharges surface 

and shallow ground water supplies. 

Reforested areas also maintain higher 

air humidity, which assists nearby 

agriculture. Conserving and improving 

soils and preventing erosion go hand 

in hand with this, as they reduce runoff 

and increase the ability of land to 

grow forests too. 

Dryfarming means planting drought-resistant 

crops and maintaining a fine surface soil.


11 

The main component in Tetra Pak 

cartons is wood fibre which comes 

from continuously growing forests 

where new trees replace the ones 

that are harvested. In 2013, 32 billion 

Tetra Pak packages carried the FSC 

(Forestry Stewardship Council) label 

in more than 50 countries around the 

world. 

©Tetra Pak 

©Tetra Pak 

The main component in 

Tetra Pak ® cartons is 

wood fibre. 

• Forestry in a treeless land 

The Icelandic Forest Service defines 

itself as working on “Forestry in a 

treeless land.” The IFS explains that it 

is not the Icelandic turf or climate that 

is behind its treelessness. Rather, it is 

a history of poor land-use decisions. 

To combat these conditions, the IFS 

planted more than 4 million seedlings 

during the 1990s, an effort they have 

expanded to include direct seeding, 

the use of tree nurseries, and the 

reintroduction of native birch.


Think - at 1 drip per second, a tap can 

leak 7,800 litres of water per year! 

©Lucky Look/Alamy/Szasz-Fabian Jozsef 

Did you know that by 2025 

Water withdrawals are predicted to increase by: 

• 50 per cent in developing countries 

• 18 per cent in developed countries 

• Repairing leaky water mains 

Recently, the World Bank estimated that as much as 60% of 

all water withdrawn by humans is lost due to leaky pipes. 

So, repairing and in some cases modernizing the water 

infrastructure would make a big difference. 

• Demand-side management 

Managing our water consumption in settled areas through 

public information campaigns and selective pricing could 

both reduce waste and encourage smarter practices. These 

include planting indigenous vegetation that is suited to the 

local climate, washing cars less often, putting low-flow 

nozzles in showers and sinks and using low-flow toilets.


13 

Superheated water is vented from the ground 

near a lava flow and used to run turbines that 

generate electricity. 

©Lucky Look/Alamy/Hideo Kurihara 

Thirsty for change 

Withdrawing water from fossil aquifers, shallow ground water wells, and surface waters are currently the main ways 

in which we obtain water for human populations, agriculture, and industry. Other sources such as desalination 

and rainwater harvesting are so far negligible. 

In many parts of the world water withdrawals are sustainable, 

and of course the distribution of water stress around the 

world is very uneven; the world is divided into the “water 

haves” and “water have-nots”. 

Many inventors, companies, university researchers, government 

agencies and others are dedicating enormous time and 

resources to solve the global water problem. Their efforts 

appear to be paying off. Here are just a handful of the many 

ideas we came across in our research. 

Clean drinking water for more than 

300 people a day! 

The inventor Dean Kamen, famous for many innovations 

including the Segway two-wheeled self-balancing vehicle, 

has been dedicating his creative energies to the pursuit of 

clean water for the world’s poor. His design firm, DEKA, is 

developing a water purifier based on their experience with 

dialysis technology. Kamen notes that at least half of all human 

diseases in the world today are caused by water-borne 

pathogens. Bad water is responsible for the deaths of over 

2 million people a year – most of them children. 

©Lucky Look/Alamy/Sean Sprague


Kamen’s Slingshot produces pure, drinkable water from 

literally any source, including salt water, chemically contaminated 

water, and water full of biological parasites. It is designed to 

operate for five years with no expert maintenance, and comes 

in a sealed plastic box that can withstand rough conditions. 

Energy comes from a Stirling engine burning a range of 

possible combustible fuels, including wood and even cow 

dung. Water is purified using vapour compression distillation. 

One unit has the capacity to produce 1,000 litres of drinking 

water per day – enough to sustain 300 people. 

DEKA is rolling this innovation out slowly. Slingshots are 

being shipped mainly to Africa and South America, whilst 

a consortium of global companies are working together to 

install 2,000 Slingshots in rural 

communities in 20 different 

countries by the end of 2015. 

We should be hearing more 

about the Slingshot soon. 

LifeStraw ® - a world 

changing ideA 

Introduced nearly ten years ago 

by Switzerland-based Vestergaard, LifeStraw is a filtration 

device used to drink biologically contaminated water, yet 

avoid infection by parasites. One straw, can provide a 

person with 1,000 litres – all the drinking water they will 

need in a year. 

LifeStraw has played a critical role in many natural disasters, 

from the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods to the 

recent typhoon tragedy in the Philippines. LifeStraw works 

just like any other straw and can remove 99.9999% of waterborne 

bacteria and 99.9% of parasites. 

Simple solutions to tricky problems 

Sometimes the water issues facing the world’s poor are very 

immediate, small-scale, and concrete. Can I purify contaminated 

water? Can I get it home from a communal well or water hole? 

Can I pump it into a house, stable or field without the help of 

electricity? 

LifeStraw works just like any other straw and can remove 99.9999% of 

waterborne bacteria and 99.9% of parasites. 

Without rational answers to these questions, the result 

might be excessive expenditures of time and physical 

labour, illness, or both. 

Simple, practical solutions may bridge gaps that appear 

trivial to people in industrialized nations, but present genuine 

barriers to a third of humanity. Examples of such solutions 

are proliferating. They include the Filtrón clay filtration pot, 

from Potters for Peace of Latin America, and the Watercone ® 

solar water purifier, from Germany. Filtrón is a simple 

household filter which treats contaminated water in order to 

render it safe to drink. It consists of a simple clay filtering 

element that can be made by local potters using local materials, 

with no need for electricity or advanced technology. The filter 

has the capacity to meet the daily drinking water needs of a 

family of 6 to 8 people. The Watercone is a solar powered 

water desalinator that from salt water, generates up to 1,7 litres 

per day of freshwater - a child`s daily need of freshwater. 

Then there are the Q-Drum and the Hippo Water Roller, 

both South African, which greatly increase the amount of water 

that an adult or child can transport on foot. In both cases, the 

tethered water container rolls along the ground, a convenient 

feature if the well is several kilometres from one’s dwelling.


15 

Hippo Water Roller which greatly increases the amount of water that an 

adult or child can transport on foot. 

Q-Drum. 

For electricity-free pumping, San Francisco-based KickStart 

has come up with the Super-MoneyMaker: a foot-pedalled 

irrigation pump aimed at the African countryside where its 

efficiency can significantly increase a farm family’s ability to 

grow food, eat better, and so improve its finances. 

With equally serious intentions is the South African Roundabout 

PlayPump. This pump uses the energy of a spinning 

playground merry-go-round to pull water from a well up into 

a small water tower, and makes fetching water look like child’s 

play. While the concept’s practical value is still being proven, it 

exemplifies the spirit of creative yet pragmatic thinking in the 

search for solutions to the world’s many water challenges. 

Roundabout PlayPump. 

A shower that recycles its own waste-water 

Our personal hygiene habits emerged long ago as one of 

the culprits in heavy water use. A human only needs roughly 

a cubic meter of drinking water per year, yet per-person 

withdrawals of freshwater around the world range from a few 

hundred cubic meters to over two thousand cubic meters per 

year. A significant portion of this is due to baths and showers. 

Perhaps not surprising, then, that even in countries with 

relatively abundant water, rising awareness of energy and 

environmental issues has prompted a concerted effort to 

reduce bathroom water consumption, including low-flow 

shower-heads. 

For example, the new OrbSys Shower, which uses a technology 

originally developed for spaceflight, can purify and 

recycle 90% of the water that goes down its drain, returning 

it to the head for further use, reducing energy consumption 

by 80% compared to conventional shower. The beauty of 

this system is that, unlike low-flow heads, the OrbSys maintains 

a good strong flow rate, while still saving water, energy 

and money.


16 TETRA PAK Magazine


17 

Water warriors; 

Harvesting rainwater to replenish 

underground water in India 

When rain falls, unless there is absorbent soil and various hollows and wetlands to trap it, 

the water will run off and vanish. This is a destructive process, leaving the land infertile and 

lowering groundwater to levels at which wells run dry. (Source: EcoTippingPoints.Org) 

Such was the situation encountered by Rajendra Singh, an 

idealistic young Indian doctor, and four of his friends, all part 

of the Tarun Bharat Sangh ("Young India Organization"), 

when they moved to the Alwar district of Rajasthan to start a 

clinic in 1985. Once there, they discovered that the greatest 

need was however water. There was a water crisis, and it was 

limiting the food farmers could grow and the incomes they 

could earn. Work began on restoring traditional earthen 

dams (johad) for rainwater catchment and underground 

water replenishment. Working only for food, a number of 

villagers joined the team to restore the first johad. The 

following year, a larger dam was restored with an estimated 

10,000 person-days of labour by the residents. 

Results from the very first pond were seen in just a 

few months. 

Gopalpura, holding over 735 million litres of water. The 

practice eventually spread to 750 other villages. 

Once the dams were constructed, they had only to wait for 

the monsoon rains. The ponds behind the dams filled with 

rainwater, which seeped into the underground water, and 

wells began to flow again. Underground transport of the 

water from dams to wells was achieved at no expense for 

infrastructure such as pipes or ditches, and no water was lost to 

evaporation. Rivers and streams were restored to year-round 

flows, providing further "free" water distribution. The higher 

water table meant that crops could grow with less irrigation 

and trees could grow close enough to villages to reduce the 

effort for firewood collection. 

Results from the very first pond were seen in just a few 

months. During the monsoon it filled with water and a nearby 

well began flowing again. This quick payback inspired more 

dam building. Ten years later there were 10 such ponds in 

The circle of positive effects—more water, more agriculture, 

more vegetation, less erosion, more water—and the related 

social benefits (e.g., men returning to the village) ensured 

the sustainability of the gains. It was no longer necessary for 

women and children to haul water from distant sources. As 

a consequence, women had more time for child care and 

supplemental economic activities, while children had time to 

return to school and the education that could provide them a 

more secure future. 

Now, almost thirty years later, Rajendra Singh is still labouring to 

restore the johad system. An entire society has been restored. 

Today, the impact of Singh and his “water warriors” can be felt 

across the entire region. Hundreds and hundreds of villages 

have resumed their traditional johad practices. The idea was 

simple. The water returned.


Water: The most critical asset 

in your production strategy 

It’s the new oil, and both need to be in the business mix. 

Source: extract from Huffington Post, by Michael Zacka, Cluster Vice President, Tetra Pak. 

No commodity seems to be more top-ofmind 

in the American consciousness than 

fuel. The media reports its price swings 

so frequently that I know the numbers 

by heart—today gas is $4.27 per gallon 

today in greater Chicago, where I work 

and reside, and crude oil just hit a ninemonth 

peak of $106.11. 

Justifiably, we angst continuously over the 

price of petroleum, yet we seem to have 

forgotten another precious, indispensable 

and dangerously depleting resource: 

water. And without this life-sustaining 

substance, nothing else matters. 

Like crude oil, water prices have surged in 

the last 12 years, doubling or tripling in 

many parts of the U.S, according to a USA 

Today study of 100 municipalities. Think 

of what that does to living expenses and 

business costs. And like crude oil, which 

is still threatened despite the current 

production boom here in the U.S., water 

is getting scarcer by the minute. 

Many Americans could soon realize this, 

since water shortages due to high demand 

and climate change have become 

a realistic possibility in New York City, 

Washington D.C., Los Angeles and San 

Diego—where approximately 40 million 

% 

Americans reside—as well as most of 

Municipal water loss 

in Canada, Mexico 

and the United States 

ranges between 20 

and 50 per cent. 

California and breadbasket states including 

Nebraska, Illinois and Minnesota, notes 

Columbia University Water Center’s new 

study, “America’s Water Risk: Water 

Stress and Climate Variability.” The vast 

majority of our food is produced in these 

water-stressed regions. 

Analysts are constantly reminding us 

that new discoveries of ‘black gold’ 

can’t keep up with declining production 

from established sources and rising car 

production, especially in Asia. Likewise, 

we need to raise awareness when it comes 

to water scarcity. 

Water Scarcity Is Everywhere 

Unpardonably, 2.6 billion people—more 

than a third of the world’s population 

—don’t have access to clean water or live 

in water-stressed areas. And it is expected


19 

Lost in the pipe. 

Number of gallons of water that leak from utility 

pipes before reaching customers: 

U.S 1 of 6 

U.K 1 of 6 

ITALY 1 of 4 

that water demand will exceed supply 

by 40 per cent by 2030. Alan Hinchman, 

Global Market Director of Infrastructure 

at GE Intelligent Platforms, told my colleagues 

and me this disturbing statistic 

at a conference hosted by Tetra Pak for 

North American business leaders in the 

food and beverage industry. We called on 

GE since they’re now one of the world’s 

leading suppliers of sustainable water 

and process systems solutions. 

Alan also told us that municipal water 

loss in Canada, Mexico and the United 

States ranges between 20 and 50 per 

cent. Think about it: “for every 1,000 

gallons of water we use, somewhere 

between 250 to 1,000 more [gallons] 

were pumped and lost by leaking pipes,” 

Alan said. This helps explain why North 

Americans have the largest water footprint 

in the world (currently 2,060 gallons per 

person a day, according to nature.org). So 

not surprisingly, Alan warned us "North 

America has a huge water infrastructure 

bill coming due.” 

What The Numbers Mean 

Ironically, most companies have sophisticated 

and effective sustainability programs 

in place. Yet water management seems 

to be one of their least obvious areas of 

immediate concern, noted Alan, basing 

his analysis on astute observation: “I’m 

seeing more and more companies locating 

in water-challenged areas, even though 

the increased demand and reduced availability 

of quality water is raising its cost 

and the risk of productivity disruptions.” 

None of us can afford to waste water 

anymore. “Many civilizations have been 

crippled or destroyed by an inability to 

understand water or manage it. We have 

a huge advantage over the generations 

of people who have come before us, 

because we can understand water and 

we can use it smartly,” notes awardwinning 

journalist Charles Fishman in 

his ground-breaking tome, “The Big Thirst: 

The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of 

Water.” And everyone can achieve this 

goal. For example, between 1980 and 

now, farmers have reduced their water 

use by 15 per cent, but produce 70 per 

cent more food. That’s a 100 per cent 

increase in farm-water-productivity, 

notes Fishman.


CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER 

People worldwide who either have no access to 

clean water or must walk to retrive it: 

How To Create A Water-Use Plan 

Bottom line, “we’re quickly going from a 

world where water is relatively free to one 

where it will cost a lot. The government 

will have to figure out the infrastructure 

issues, but we have to streamline our own 

processes and make smart water decisions 

right now,” Alan warned. Like innovation, 

which is an entire business practice area 

rather than just a single, or even series, 

of new solutions, it must become an integral 

and deep part of an overall business 

strategy. Experts like Alan say there’s room 

in every step of the production process for 

improvement. 

Here’s how: 

Determine the true cost of the 

1. water you use, starting with a 

comprehensive analysis of current water 

use, and allocate it more efficiently. A 

case in Australia illustrates this; water 

treatment giant Yarra Valley Water just 

had the British natural capital consultancy 

Trucost assess the real environmental costs 

of the water it uses, and found that one 

cubic meter of water actually ranges from 

ten cents to $15 AU in areas of extreme 

scarcity. Yarra Valley is now using this 

information to evaluate its new infrastructure 

investments, procurement 

strategies and product portfolios. 

4 

– out of – 

10 

Carefully manage your supply 

2. chain. Most companies’ direct 

water use pales in comparison to their 

embedded water use, which means the 

amount of water required to produce every 

aspect of a product from start to finish. For 

example, according to the U.S. Geological 

Survey, to make a single slice of bread, 

single cup of coffee or grow one pound 

of corn it takes 10, 35 and 110 gallons of 

water, respectively. According to the GE 

Water Facts video, it takes 2,700 gallons 

of water to make one hamburger. The 

supply chain is a primary focus of water 

stewardship activity for companies that 

include Ikea and Levi Strauss & Co. Levi has 

reduced water by 50 per cent since 2005 

through sustainable cotton cultivation.


21 

Minimize water use in your 

3. production process. At Tetra 

Pak, our Design for Environment (DfE) 

program considers every aspect of product 

design, production and operation to reduce 

water loss, also offering this as a competitive 

advantage to our customers. For example, 

our Tetra Lactenso Aseptic with OneStep 

technology for the processing of aseptic 

milk reduces water utilization by 60 per 

cent and our Tetra Therm pasteurizers 

use cutting-edge intelligent automation 

to drive resource efficiencies that slash 

water consumption by up to 80 per cent 

compared to older versions. 

Increase water recycling and 

4. reuse. Manage water quality 

through responsible wastewater 

collection, treatment, recycling and disposal, 

and monitor activities that can 

potentially cause water quality problems. 

Reusing wastewater can reduce 

the potential impact of discharging 

pollutants into water sources, and/or 

reduce the demand on potable water 

supplies. 

Design Water-Savvy Plants and 

5. Products. Sustainable design 

must go from ‘emergent’ to ‘entrenched’ 

right now. Any product design process 

must start with a total life cycle analysis 

that gauges its water impact. This 

means taking into consideration the 

entire supply chain, manufacturing and 

distribution procesand how it will be 

recycled and/or disposed of to optimize 

its water metrics. 

All of these processes can help us better 

manage this precious resource, but are 

just a starting point. So here is to hoping 

it won’t be long before we all figure out 

how to not only implement them, but also 

come up with innovative new strategies 

to better these methods. 

CONVERSATION 

NATION 

Per capita 

water use in the U.S 

(per day) 

1955......... 

1980......... 

2005......... 

1,460 

gallons 

1,920 

gallons 

1,360 

gallons 

Unpardonably, 2.6 billion people—more than a 

third of the world’s population—don’t have access 

to clean water or live in water-stressed areas.


WHO HAS ACCESS TO 

49,6% 

Mauritania 

91 - 100% 

76 - 90% 

46,5% 

Democratic Republic 

of the Congo 

50 - 75% 

IMPROVED DRINKING WATER* 


23 

49,2% 

Mozambique 

39,7% 

Papua New Guinea 

49,6% 

Madagascar 

IMPROVED 

UNIMPROVED 

Piped water 

Public tap 

Tubewell or borehole 

Cart with small tank 

Tanker-truck 

Bottled water 

Protected dug well 

Rainwater 

Protected spring 

Unprotected dug well 

Surface water 

Unprotected spring 

are protected from outside contamination, particularly faecal matter. 

SOURCES IN 2010


A global thirst for 

designer water 

As sales of carbonated soft drinks continue to decline in advanced markets, 

global demand for packaged water is booming. What is behind today’s 

enthusiasm for bottled H₂O in all its innovative forms? 

©Tetra Pak


25 

Packaged water has now surpassed 

carbonated drinks as the leading 

non-alcoholic beverage category. 

Consumers are lapping up the 

growing number of packaged water 

options available on the market, with 

Europe and North America accounting 

for about 50% of global sales. In many 

developed countries, the success of 

packaged water rests on the lifestyle 

trends of more health-conscious 

consumers. However, in some of the 

emerging markets, demand is also 

driven by a need for safe drinking water 

in areas where municipal supplies are 

not always reliable. In the context of 

emergency relief efforts, the distribution 

of hundreds of thousands of 

packages of pure drinking water to 

the victims of a natural disaster is a 

familiar image. Sometimes a sealed 

package of pure water is literally a 

life-saver. 

Sparkling, mineral, or with 

a hint of citrus? 

Packaged water is a hugely successful 

product, even where municipal 

water supplies are safe and trustworthy. 

In France and Italy, packaged 

mineral water has long been popular 

in both restaurants and homes, with 

well-known brands associated with 

particular natural sources. People often 

have a favourite, and will describe the 

virtues of their preferred brand with 

the lyrical enthusiasm usually reserved 

for wine. A favourite mineral water is 

not only superior in taste, according to 

its fans, but it’s also full of great health 

benefits. 

No one can argue that drinking plenty 

of pure water isn’t good for you – 

indeed, the spread of packaged water 

in the developed world has proceeded 

alongside the health and fitness trends 

of recent decades. As with other 

products, a previously generic basic 

commodity - drinking water - has been 

transformed into an expression of 

individual taste. 

For consumers who love water but 

enjoy added taste, producers have 

come up with a multitude of innovative 

flavoured water options. One British 

supermarket giant for example, lists no 

less than 145 different water choices on 

its website, of which 45 are flavoured. 

In some ways, these offer health-conscious 

people the best of both worlds: 

a diversity of tastes without any of the 

calories! 

Water in a Box 

Packaged water is also popular in 

single portions to be consumed on the 

go – practical for picnics, sports and 

lunch boxes. Many schools prohibit 

the consumption of sugary drinks on 

their premises but have no objection 

to water, whether sparkling, still or 

flavoured. 

Packaging in all shapes and 

sizes 

With all these thirst-quenching options 

on the market, producers of ‘designer’ 

water work hard to differentiate their 

product through innovative and 

eye-catching packaging. A popular 

alternative is water in carton packages, 

which are robust, stackable and have 

a smaller carbon footprint than their 

plastic counterparts. Cartons also allow 

for colourful, eye-catching designs 

while satisfying many consumers’ 

requirements for an environmentally 

friendly product. 

UK based Vivid Waters has recently launched Water in a Box, a plain plus three 

flavoured water range packed in Tetra Pak ® cartons. Aimed at on the go consumption, 

the drinks are packed in Tetra Prisma ® Aseptic 330 Sq cartons with DreamCap, 

an innovative drink-from, re-closable cap.


Purity and convenience 

Some packaged water originates from 

a particular natural spring and takes its 

name from that spring. These products 

are associated with a location in 

the same way as a cheese or wine; their 

brand is the name of the location. Water 

from some of these famous sources 

is claimed to have health-enhancing 

properties and many of these brands 

have a distinctive taste. Some are also 

naturally carbonated, or contain certain 

minerals, features that producers 

emphasise in their marketing. 

Other water brands are in fact simply 

tap water from a municipal source which 

has been purified through a process of 

reverse osmosis, ozonation, distillation 

or deionization. The benefit for the 

consumer is mainly in the convenience 

of the packaging and the guarantee of 

a pure, safe product. Where municipal 

water is unsafe to drink, packaged water 

is more than just trendy and convenient; 

it is a necessity. 

People can boil tap water in their 

homes, but when they are out and 

about, a sealed package is their safest 

option. This accounts for the increase 

in sales of packaged water in parts 

of the world such as India, where 

consumption is expected to increase 

annually by more than 20% in the 

next few years. Asian markets already 

account for around a third of global 

sales of packaged water, with plenty of 

room for expansion. 

Meanwhile, producers are coming up 

with ever more innovative and enticing 

versions of good old plain drinking 

water. 

©Tetra Pak

Coconut water 

Coconut water has moved from being a niche health 

product to an increasingly popular drink around the world particularly 

over the last five years. 

Changing consumer tastes and increasing health awareness have been important 

factors in bringing about the success of coconut water. Coconut water is 

naturally low in fat, and has a number of health benefits: it contains electrolytes 

(potassium, magnesium, sodium, calcium, and phosphorous) needed for natural 

rehydration and provides similar benefits to energy and sports drinks. 

As coconut water has become more and more popular, the demand for 

products that people can drink on-the-go has increased and the majority of 

coconut water is in fact sold in individual, on-the-go portion packs. 

Tetra Pak was the first company to introduce aseptically packed coconut 

water which could be stored for long periods and packaged without altering 

its natural texture and nutrients. Today, the company works closely with 

coconut water customers around the world to provide packaging solutions 

which ensure product safety and convenience for consumers. 

In 2012 Tetra Pak opened a Coconut Knowledge Centre in Singapore. This 

centre enables us to understand the characteristics of coconut products; 

provide technical support to customers; develop new recipes; and expand 

knowledge sharing among our international network of experts. 

Cactus Water 

True Nopal Cactus Water was recently launched in America, packed in 

Tetra Prisma ® Aseptic 1000 ml Square packages, maintaining its freshness. 

True Nopal is made with the nutritious fruit of the prickly pear cactus 

and is 100 per cent all natural with no added sugars, no fat, no cholesterol, 

no GMOs and is gluten-free. 

A maybe less known but very healthy option is cactus water. Already a 

popular beverage in Mexico, South America, India, the Middle East and parts 

of Europe, it has recently caught on in popularity in the United States too. 

Cactus water comes from prickly pears - the fruit produced by one particular 

cacti, Opuntia - which offer a range of health benefits, containing a variety of 

vitamins, a high fibre content and are rich in magnesium and potassium. 

Additionally, this fruit is rich in amino acids, specifically taurine. Taurine has 

antioxidants and flavonoids, both of which are beneficial to the body. 

Faroe Water 

Faroe Water orginates from the remote North Atlantic location of 

the Faroe Islands. Deep within the mountains are natural springs 

where crystal clean Atlantic rain seeps into mountain crevices and 

settles into pristine wells. 

Aqua Zana 

Aqua Zana, natural spring water from the Canary Islands, 

recently released by JSP and packed in Tetra Prisma ® Aseptic 

330 Sq DreamCap packages. 

This natural spring water is now packed in Tetra Prisma ® Aseptic 500 ml Sq 

packages allowing consumers to enjoy the freshness of 

spring water wherever they are.


©Lucky Look/Alamy 

Exploration 

and trade 


Over millennia water has exerted an extraordinary pull on the human imagination. 

It seems that we only have to see a sea to want to travel across it. The following 

conquests enabled the world to become connected and, through trade, stay connected.


29 

But the true ‘Age of Sail’ was launched by Vasco de 

Gama when he sailed round the Cape of Good Hope 

and reached Calicut. Thanks to Vasco’s seafaring 

skills, control of the spice trade started to move 

from the East to the West. Trade in the East Indies 

was dominated by Portugal in the 16th Century, the 

Dutch Republic in the 17th century and the British in 

the 18th Century. 

Connecting continents 

A history of the great sea-faring nations doubles up 

as a history of how nations learned to speak to one 

another, although not always peacefully. There are 

the Polynesians who used balsa-log boats to colonise 

the Pacific; or the Vikings who used their long ships 

to travel as far east as Constantinople and as far west 

as Newfoundland; or the British who colonised North 

America and Oceania and discovered the South Pole; 

or the Spanish who colonised America and were the 

first to circumnavigate the globe; or the Portuguese 

who discovered a way round Africa to India and were 

the first Europeans to travel to Indonesia, China and 

Japan. 

Trading on rivers and canals 

De Gama’s feat has been regarded by many as the 

‘Big Bang’ of globalization. However, water voyages 

have not all been on a grand or international scale. 

Travel and trade has always been a feature of life 

up and down rivers, and where no natural waterways 

existed, people have often created them. The 

building of canals was started by the Mesopotamians 

as early as 4000 BC, and continued by the Chinese 

when they created the Grand Canal of China, still 

the longest canal in the world, at the turn of the 7th 

Century. Canals provided the infrastructure for the 

Industrial Revolutions in both America and Britain. 

Over time, they were superseded by rail and road. 

But even to this day, the Panama and Suez Canal are 

of vital strategic importance. 

All these amazing feats of seamanship created the first 

trade bonds. Both the Silk Road and the maritime Silk 

Route were established in the 1st Century BC thereby 

providing the opportunity for East to meet West. 

And for an extraordinary four centuries (beginning 

in the13th century) the Hanseatic League allowed a 

collection of naval cities to form a trade monopoly 

over most of Northern Europe and the Baltic, making 

their merchants the wealthiest in Europe. 

©Lucky Look/Alamy


How water turned hunter-gatherers 

into farmers and engineers 

It is not an exaggeration to say that the birth of major human civilization depended on 

close proximity to water. Enormous leaps forward, such as the invention of writing and 

irrigation technology, first happened in early human settlements located along major 

rivers in very different parts of the world. 

Reaping what you sow 

Until approximately 10,000 years ago, our ancestors did 

not deliberately sow and harvest plants for consumption. 

Communities subsisted on hunting and gathering, for which 

they had developed tools and techniques. But certain 

groups, in locations with a steady and relatively predictable 

supply of fresh water, were able to take a great developmental 

step forward in the form of early agriculture. This occurred 

independently in several very different parts of the world; 

each time in proximity to one or several rivers. 

Sowing and harvesting crops meant that these early communities 

no longer had to be nomadic in order to survive 

by hunting for edible plants and following game. Instead 

they could focus on developing technologies to improve 

their harvest: early engineering projects were in fact often 

destined to control the flow and availability of water for 

crops. 

Early urban planning along the Indus 

This pattern – freshwater supply, agriculture, irrigation 

systems - appears in the four major early riverine civilizations 

which gave rise to the first sophisticated city states. It seems 

that mastering the water supply was key to the development 

of many other technologies, allowing human communities 

to take their skills and knowledge to a completely new level. 

Consider Harappa, an ancient city-state in the Indus Valley. 

As early as 3000 BCE, this impressive civilization had sewerage 

and drainage systems that were far more advanced 

than many to be found elsewhere in later centuries. Good 

The Indus Valley Civilization Pakistan 1865. 

hygiene, coupled with efficient irrigation systems, allowed 

the population along the Indus to flourish. Controlling the 

freshwater supply and the flow of waste water was crucial to 

the success of the Harappan civilization, which numbered 

over five million people at its height. Harappan cities were 

constructed using advanced urban planning and building 

techniques. They applied a uniform system of weights and 

measures and are credited with inventing dentistry as well as 

a system of writing known as Indus script. 

Irrigation canals in the cradle of civilization 

Similarly, the first city-based civilization in Mesopotamia, 

around 3300 BCE, developed irrigation systems to divert 

water from the two great rivers to crops in the region in 

between them. Communities living in what is known as the 

cradle of civilization learned to exploit the water supply 

through a system of man-made canals, thereby guaranteeing 

©Lucky Look/Alamy


31 


©Lucky Look/Alamy/Paul Springett 

Pyramids at Gizeh with dhows on the Nile River. 

Yellow river Huang He in Qinghai Province in western China cradle of 

Chinese civilization. 

more reliable food production. Maintenance of the irrigation 

network required a large amount of human labour, which led 

to the development of urban centres and, eventually, citystates. 

The fertile plains of Mesopotamia sustained the fertile 

minds of their inhabitants, who went on to develop a written 

language (Sumerian), in addition to mathematics, astronomy, 

medicine, literature, philosophy and art. 

Exploiting floodwater along the Nile 

In ancient Egypt as well as along the Indus and in Mesopotamia, 

irrigation technology also included the diversion of flood water. 

The rich sediments in the flood waters improved agricultural output, 

and the more secure food supply in turn allowed people to 

focus on innovations beyond irrigation systems. Fishing will have 

provided much-needed protein as well, probably contributing 

to the population’s chances of thriving and developing new skills 

and abilities. Visitors to Egypt today still marvel at the innovative 

capabilities of the ancient Egyptians and their unrivalled building 

techniques, of which the famous pyramids, temples and monumental 

statues provide abundant proof. 

human endeavour besides agriculture. Architecture, urban 

planning, art and handicrafts all developed in the early city 

states, along with the great human breakthrough of written 

language. In addition to providing essential water, the rivers 

also acted as communication channels between the various 

settlements along their banks. Traders and artisans exchanged 

knowledge and skills, while materials were brought from distant 

regions to produce artefacts, some of which are still being 

unearthed by archaeologists today. 

Without access to fresh water in the form of major rivers, 

human civilization might never have developed as it did. The 

many inventions and discoveries originating in the ancient 

riverine civilization indicate that human potential is generally 

enhanced and supported by the addition of water. This is 

even true today, as access to clean drinking water, irrigation 

for crops and good waste water disposal are preconditions 

for the successful development of communities all over the 

planet. 

Water fosters human ingenuity 

Chinese civilization was also born along a river – or more 

than one. The Yellow River, or Huang He, was apparently 

harnessed for irrigation purposes as early as the third 

millennium BCE. The importance of irrigation engineering for 

the region was such that warring city states would sabotage 

each other’s canals and dykes, deliberately causing floods 

in rival territories. But in peacetime, along these ancient 

rivers, human ingenuity exploded in the form of technological 

advances, with a spill-over effect into many areas of 

©Lucky Look/Alamy/Dennis Cox 

Chinese calligraphy on ground with water brush.


There’s no place 

like Home 

While most of us cling to the comforting stability of terra firma, 

others find creative ways to make the world’s oceans, lakes, and 

waterways their permanent home. 

Water may be essential to life, but the 

land is where humans usually choose to 

live. We may venture out on the water 

for recreation, adventure or solitude, 

but few of us can bear to be cut adrift 

from solid ground for too long. What 

would it be like to live each day without 

ever setting foot on dry land? For most 

of us, it’s hard to imagine. For some, it’s 

a simple fact of life. 

While exact numbers are hard to come 

by, more people are living on the water 

than you might think. Through choice or 

necessity, individuals—and sometimes 

even entire communities—are leaving 

the shores behind to find a home 

The liquid surface covers 

more than 70 per cent of 

our planet. 

among the waves. On houseboats, 

longboats, sailboats, makeshift rafts, 

and even synthetic islands, these 

water-dwellers are drifting outward to 

colonize the shifting liquid surface that 

covers more than 70 per cent of our 

planet. 

Swept off the land 

For some, life on the water is the only 

life possible. Driven from the land by 

poverty or climatic extremes, these 

fragile communities find ingenious 

ways to adapt and survive. 

When the land no longer welcomes 

them, the rivers, lakes, and oceans


33 

Chong Khneas, Cambodia 

Kerala, India 

Makoko, Lagos 



offer a last resort to some of the 

world’s poorest citizens. On slender 

wooden stilts or light bamboo vessels, 

these waterborne societies may look 

as though they would blow away in a 

stiff wind, but many have endured for 

centuries, sprawling further each year 

until they stretch for miles and house 

tens of thousands. 

The neighbourhood of Makoko has 

crowded the shores of Lagos for nearly 

three centuries, and is now home to 

about 25,000 people. Sometimes 

called “la Venise noire” (the black 

Venice), it’s made up of hundreds of 

tumbledown wooden shacks perched 

on stilts above the grey, oily waters of 

a shallow lagoon. The children learn 

to swim before they walk, and every 

family owns a long canoe used for 

transportation and fishing—the way to 

earn a living. 

Further east, in Cambodia, the floating 

village of Chong Khneas bobs on the 

surface of the volatile Tonle Sap Lake. 

Every year, the lake swells mightily and 

floods the surrounding area, making 

any kind of land settlement impossible. 

Instead, the locals have built their entire 

community on a series of bamboo 

houseboats that contain homes, shops, 

restaurants, and even a police station.


In the neighbouring country of Thailand, the Moken, or 

sea gypsies, believe their aquatic way of life is the result of a 

curse laid upon them by an ancestral queen. For centuries, 

the Moken have lived on boats called kabangs on which they 

drift for most of the year. Over time, the water has actually 

changed their physiology: the Moken have the ability to 

see further and stay longer beneath the water than other 

humans. When the tsunami ravaged the coast of Thailand in 

2005, not a single Moken life was lost: they read the impending 

disaster in the pattern of the waves they knew so well and took 

to high ground before impact. 

©Lucky Look/Alamy/Hakbong Kwon 

Moken have the ability to see further and stay longer beneath the water 

than other humans. 

Eco-friendly living 

With sea levels now predicted to rise as much as one metre 

by 2100, some of the world’s most creative minds are exploring 

new ways to house the coastal inhabitants whose homes may 

be submerged by the rising tides. 

The government of Kiribati, a tiny island in the South 

Pacific, is also looking into the viability of floating islands to 

re-house the “climate refugees” who will soon be pushed 

out of their homes by rising sea levels. This development 

would allow some 30,000 people to relocate to a series of 

artificial islands that float on the water like lily pads. Islands 

can be linked together to form self-sustaining “cities” that 

include residential units, offices, services, shops, and even 

arable land for growing crops. 

While the floating islands of Africa and Kiribati have yet to become 

reality, an enterprising artist/ecologist has already created an artificial 

floating island on a much smaller scale. Rishi Sowa built Spiral Island II, 

which floats near Cancun, Mexico, out of 100,000 recycled plastic bottles. 

The sandy island is about 18 metres in diameter, and includes a house, 

mangrove trees, and even a duck pond. 

Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi is working on plans for 

water cities that will allow the coastal waters of Africa to 

sustain floating dwellings that minimize ecological impact, 

expand the habitable area, and enable residents to weather 

adverse environmental conditions including flooding and 

storms. His living structures float on recycled barrels and are 

powered sustainably by solar panels. 

Whilst working on plans for a floating village, Nigerian architect Kunlé 

Adeyemi has designed and built, using local materials and labour, a 

floating school in the watery heart of Makoko. Floating on 256 plastic 

barrels the school offers classrooms for around 100 children.


35 


Taking the plunge 

Some people simply love the freedom of life on the water. 

They trade a mortgage for moorage without a backward 

glance at their old, landlocked lifestyle. 

Water shifts and flows in ways that make life interesting, 

especially when you can pick up any time and follow its 

unpredictable course. All over the world, adventurous, 

independent spirits choose to live on sailboats, longboats, 

and houseboats that allow them to blend the comforts of 

home with the thrill of adventure. 

Amsterdam’s houseboat culture is a unique part of the city’s 

distinctive charm. Today, about 2,500 houseboats—some of 

them more than 100 years old—float along its labyrinthine 

canal system, offering a unique mode of living for artists, 

professionals and families. 

Britain’s 2,000 miles of navigable waterways are also home 

to more than 15,000 people who live on houseboats and the 

distinctive, colourful narrow-boats designed to navigate the 

nation’s slender canals.


Liquid Love 

For creatures with no gills or fins, we humans seem to have a surprisingly intense 

relationship with water. What is behind the love affair between us and H 2 

O? 

We need water to survive, of course; along with oxygen it is 

a non-negotiable factor for sustaining life. A strong human 

being can survive for a month without food, but not more 

than about 3 days without water. 

©Gettyimages


37 

Fontana di Trevi, Italy 

So it makes sense that human beings 

have evolved to value the presence 

of water and particularly of clean, drinkable, 

running water. Yet our fascination 

with the stuff that covers about 70% of 

our blue planet and makes up almost 

two thirds of our bodies goes well 

beyond mere utility. Throughout history, 

our civilizations have developed and 

thrived at the water’s edge. In addition, 

we connect to water as individuals: we 

bathe in it, drink it, play and relax in it, 

use it to heal and soothe our bodies 

and minds. In communities all over the 

planet, human beings have integrated 

water into their architecture, religious 

rituals, leisure activities, health and 

wellbeing. 

Were our ancestors aquatic 

mammals? 

One tentative explanation for this 

intense relationship with water is the 

Aquatic Ape Hypothesis, according to 

which we all descend from a common 

aquatic ancestor. This theory has not 

gained mainstream support within the 

scientific community, although it has 

some eminent proponents, including 

Sir David Attenborough (the English 

naturalist and former BBC 2 senior 

manager, broadcaster of natural history 

programmes for more than 60 years). 

Some of the arguments in its favour 

are compelling - especially when you 

compare the human body to that of 

other land mammals, most of which are 

covered in hair. We, in contrast, appear 

to have more in common with dolphins 

and seals than with sheep or bears: our 

smooth bodies, upright stance and 

subcutaneous fat make us better 

adapted to an aquatic environment. 

©Metvert/Scoreit.se 

And if our hominid ancestors lived in 

or by bodies of water, it can be argued 

that the fish and seafood they ate - rich 

in Omega 3 fatty acids - resulted in 

their brains evolving to become the 

largest among the genus Homo. If 

that is correct, we would owe our very 

intelligence to our ancient relationship 

with water. While these theories remain 

to be scientifically proven, the love 

affair between humans and water is 

still going strong - starting, arguably, 

before we are even born. 

Swimming underwater is 

child’s play 

Ultra-sound images reveal human 

babies floating happily in amniotic 

fluid until the moment of birth. Newborns 

retain an uncanny ability to swim 

underwater and an efficient reflex that 

prevents them from breathing water 

into their lungs. Not only can they 

cope with an aquatic environment, 

they appear to find it very agreeable. 

For most children, the loss of the 

neonatal ability to swim is followed by 

years of delighted play in and around 

water. 

Soothing the body and the 

human spirit 

We still use water in therapeutic 

contexts, as humans have done since 

ancient times. Throughout history, 

people have found different ways of 

harnessing the soothing properties 

of water to enhance their health and 

well-being. The ancient Romans elevated 

their thermal bath rituals into an art, as 

they took to the water – cold, warm or 

in steam form - in magnificent surroundings. 

Not all spa enthusiasts 

of today know that they are merely 

continuing in the same tradition, as 

the word spa is nothing more than 

an acronym for the Latin expression, 

Salute per Aqua, or Health through 

Water.


Water-powered deities 

Polytheistic religions frequently feature 

a river or sea deity with great power, 

such as the Greek Poseidon or Roman 

Neptune. In Chinese mythology, Gong 

Gong was a powerful water god, whilst 

He Bo was the god of the Yellow River, 

or Huang He. 

A common thread among these diverse 

watery deities is their association with 

both destructive and life-giving powers. 

In many sea-faring cultures, a sea god 

has to be appeased in order to protect 

sailors and fishermen. The sea is 

their livelihood, but also a dangerous 

environment for humans, and this is 

often reflected in its symbolic personification. 

Among the more appealing features 

of aquatic deities are beauty, fertility 

and purity. The Greek goddess 

Aphrodite, for example, emerged from 

the sea while the Zoroastrian divinity, 

Tishtrya, brings life-giving rain and 

hence fertility to both the land and its 

human inhabitants. 


In many sea-faring cultures, a sea god has to be appeased 

in order to protect sailors and fishermen.


39 

Without water there is no life! 

And second, water is a primary building 

block of life. Without water there is no 

life, yet water has the power to destroy 

as well as to create. 

The significance of water varies in 

different religions and beliefs but 

these two qualities of water lie behind 

its place in most cultures and faiths. 

African water deities are often female 

(the Yoruba goddess Oshun, for 

example, or her Igbo river counterpart 

Idemili) and associated with beauty, 

fertility and motherhood. The lifefostering 

properties of water seem to 

be embodied in these divine entities. 


signs of previous defilement. Water 

not only purifies objects for ritual use, 

but it cleanses a person, externally or 

spiritually, ready to come into the 

presence of his/her focus of worship. 

A treasure worth protecting 

Evidently our passion for water runs 

deep – as it were – only adding to the 

many reasons we already have to value 

this essential resource. Whether or not 

we descend from an ancient aquatic 

ancestor, as a species we have benefited 

from proximity to water. It remains a 

vital necessity, as well as a source of 

pleasure and well-being. 

Cleansing & Purifying 

Human societies as far apart as the 

river Jordan and the Ganges have 

placed their hopes in the river’s capacity 

to cleanse and purify, allowing the 

believer to emerge renewed - reborn, 

in a sense - as a result. 

Water has a central place in the 

practices and beliefs of many religions 

for two main reasons. First, water 

cleanses. Water washes away impurities 

and pollutants, it can make an object 

look as good as new and wipe away any 

©Lucky Look/Alamy/Edward North


40 TETRA PAK Magazine

TETRA PAK PROCESSING AND PACKAGING SYSTEMS ARE MARKETED BY, AMONG OTHERS 

Arabia Tetra Pak Manufacturing Ltd 

Lot 88-103, Phase 3, Jcci, Warehouse City 

21413 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 

Tel +966-2 635 1515 

Argentina and Uruguay Tetra Pak SRL 

Uruguay 2887, Victoria B1644HJI, Pcia de Buenos Aires 

Tel +54 11 4725 7600 

Australia Tetra Pak Marketing Pty Ltd 

2A Hill Road, Homebush Bay, N.S.W. 2127 

Tel +61-2 8719 7300 

Austria Tetra Pak GmbH 

Am Euro Platz 2, 1120 Wien 

Tel +43 1 897 2200 

Balkans Tetra Pak Production d.o.o. Beograd 

Milutina Milankovica 11b, 11070 Belgrade, Serbia 

Tel +381-11 2017 333 

Baltic States Tetra Pak Baltic States 

K. Ulmana gatve 86 f. Riga, Latvia 

Tel +371-760 2000 

Belgium Tetra Pak Belgium NV/SA 

A.Gossetlaan 28A Bus 1, 1702 Groot Bijgaarden 

Tel +32-2467 6811 

Brazil and Paraguay Tetra Pak Ltda 

Av.das Nações Unidas,4777– 10° andar 

Ed.Villa-Lobos – Alto de Pinheiros 

05477-000 São Paulo, SP 

Tel +55-11 5501 3200 

Canada Tetra Pak Canada Inc 

777 Bay Street, Suite 2902, Toronto MGG 2C8 

Tel +1 647 775 1854 

Central America and Caribbean Tetra Pak S.A. 

Ave. Samuel Lewis y Calle 55 Obarrio 

Edificio Plaza Globus, piso 7,Panama 

Tel +507 2085800 

Central Asia Tetra Pak Kazakhstan Ltd 

22 Zenkov Street, 050010 Almaty, Kazakhstan 

Tel +7 727 259 84 00 

Chile Tetra Pak de Chile Ltda 

Av El Bosque Sur 130, Piso 8 

Las Condes, 676 0435 Santiago 

Tel +56 2 940 7000 

China (PR) Tetra Pak China Ltd 

29th fl, CITIC Sq, 1168 Nanjing Xi Lu, 

Shanghai 200041 

Tel +8621-3217 4688 

Colombia and Ecuador Tetra Pak Ltda 

World Trade Center, Calle 100 No 8A-55, 

Torre C, Oficina 209, Bogota 

Tel +57-1 628 3630 

Czech Tetra Pak Ceská republic s.r.o. 

Nova cesta 17, 140 21 Praha 4 

Tel +420-2 6100 7111 

East Mediterranean Tetra Pak East Med. 

Mkalles 691 Centre, Beiruth, Lebanon 

Tel +961-1-693 777 

Egypt Tetra Pak Egypt Ltd 

Block 72 City Center 3rd Floor, from 

Teseen St. Beside Banking Center, New Cairo 

Tel +2 02 26160180 

Finland Tetra Pak Oy 

Meijeritie 2, 00370 Helsinki 

Tel +358-207633611 

France Tetra Pak France 

420, rue d’Estienne d’Orves, 

92705 Colombes Cedex 

Tel +33-1 56 47 5000 

Germany Tetra Pak Mid Europe 

Frankfurter Strasse 79-81, 65233 Hochheim 

Tel +49-6146 590 

Tetra Pak Processing GmbH 

Senefelder - Ring 27, 21465 Reinbek 

Tel +49-40 600 910, 

Greece Tetra Pak Hellas SA 

Kifissias 56 & Delfon 

15125 Marousi, Athens 

Tel +30-210 616 7500 

Hungary Tetra Pak Hungary Ltd 

P O Box 200, Industrial Site 2041 Budaörs, 

Hungary 

Tel +36-23 885 200 

India Tetra Pak India Pvt Ltd 

Global Business Park, Tower C, 5th fl. 

Mehroli-Gurgaon Rd 122001 Gurgaon, Haryana 

Tel +91-124 256 5630 

Indonesia PT Tetra Pak Indonesia 

Jl. Buncit Raya Kav.100, Lantai 3 Jakarta 12510 

Tel +62-21 7917 8000 

Iran Tetra Pak Iran 

1st fl. Khorshid Bldg.No.1264, Vali Asr Ave. 

Tehran 1435674173 

Tel +9821-82 139 000 

Ireland Tetra Pak Ireland Ltd 

5th Floor, 1 Tuansgate, Belgard Square East, 

Tallaght, Dublin 24 

Tel +353-1 467 8000 

Italy Tetra Pak Italiana SpA 

Viale della Resistenza 56/A, 42048 Rubiera (RE) 

Tel +39-0522 263 411 

Japan Nihon Tetra Pak K.K. 

Kioicho Fukudaya Bldg. 6-12, Kioicho, 

Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8544 

Tel +81-3-5211 2111 

Kenya and East Africa 

Tetra Pak (Kenya) Ltd 

P O Box 78340, Nairobi 

Tel +254 20 6909 000 

Korea Tetra Pak Ltd 

7F Ansung Tower, 737-35 Hannan-dong 

Yongsan-gu, 140-895 Seoul, South Korea 

Tel +82-2 799 2302 

Malaysia and Singapore Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 

1201 Level 12 Uptown 2, No.2 Jalan 

SS21/37 Damansara Uptown, 

47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan 

Tel +603 7724 7000 

Mexico Tetra Pak SA de CV 

Av.Ejército Nacional 843-B, Antara Polanco, 

Torre Paseo, Acceso A-Piso 2, Col.Granada, 

Del.Miguel Hidalgo, C.P.11520 México, D.F. 

Tel +52-55 2122 8700 

Morocco Tetra Pak Maghreb 

69 rue Othmane Ibnou Affane 3 ème etage, 

20000 Casablanca, Morocco 

Tel +212 2248 8150 

Netherlands Tetra Pak B.V. 

Oostelijke Randweg 48 4782 PZ Moerdijk 

Tel +31-168 386500 

Tetra Pak Processing Systems BV 

Hoofdveste 18, 3992 DG Houten 

Tel +31-305 349 999 

New Zealand Tetra Pak New Zealand Ltd 

Level 1, Tetra Pak Building, Waikato Innovation 

Park, Ruakura Lane, Hamilton 3214 

Tel +64 7 8591442 

Norway Tetra Pak AS 

P.O.Box 477, 1327 Lysaker 

Tel +47-67 83 30 00 

Pakistan Tetra Pak Pakistan Ltd 

316 - Upper Mall, Lahore 54000 

Tel +92-42 5710070-77 

Peru and Bolivia Tetra Pak SA (Perú) 

Av Victor A.Belaúnde 147 Centro Empresarial 

Edif. Real Seis Ofic. 403 Lima 27 

Tel +51 1 212 1060 

Philippines Tetra Pak Philippines Inc 

7/F Net One Center 26 St.Cnr. Third Ave 

Crescent Park W Distr Bonifacio Global City 

Taguig 1634, Metro Manila 

Tel +632 976 3400 

Poland Tetra Pak Poland & Danube 

Osmánska 14, 02-823 Warsaw 

Tel +48-22 5434 000 

Portugal Tetra Pak Ibéria 

Av do Forte 12, 2790-072 Carnaxide 

Tel +351-21 416 5600 

Romania Tetra Pak Romania S.R.L. 

1A, Ion Ionescu de la Brad St., 

Baneasa Airport tower, 3rd fl. BUCHAREST 1, 

Tel: +40 316206886 

Russia and Belarus Tetra Pak A/O 

8, Wilhelm Pieck str, 129226 Moscow 

Tel +7-095 787 8000 

Slovenia, Croatia and Albania Tetra Pak d.o.o. 

Spruha 36, Trzin, 1236 Ljubljana, Slovenia 

Tel +386-1 5304 200 

South Africa Tetra Pak South Africa (Pty) Ltd 

100 Electron Avenue, Isando, Gauteng 1600 

Tel +27-11 570 3000 

Spain Tetra Pak Ibéria 

Latón, 8 (Poligono Finanzauto) 

28500 Arganda del Rey (Madrid) 

Tel +34-91 876 9500 

Sweden and Denmark Tetra Pak Sweden AB 

Ruben Rausings gata, 221 86 Lund 

Tel: +46 46 36 10 00 

Switzerland Tetra Pak Mid Europe 

Europastrasse 30, 8152 Glattbrugg 

Tel +41-44 804 6600 

Taiwan Tetra Pak Taiwan Ltd 

4, Wen Ming 3rd Street, Lin Kou Ind. Park 3, 

Taoyuan 333 

Tel +886-3 328 3111 

Thailand Tetra Pak (Thailand) Ltd 

1042 Soi Sukhumvit 66/1, Sukhumvit Road 

Bangchak, Bangkok 10260 

Tel +66-2 704 3000 

Turkey Tetra Pak AS 

Buyukdere Cad. Nurol Plaza. 

No: 255 A-Blok Kat:10, 34398 Maslak-Istanbul 

Tel +90-212 444 68 78 

Ukraine Tetra Pak Ukraine 

Mezhigirska ul.82, 04080 Kiev 80 

Tel +380-44 230 3939 

United Arab Emirates Tetra Pak Gulf 

Jebel Ali Free Zone, S-10107 South Zone, Dubai 

Tel +971-4 8811222 

United Kingdom Tetra Pak Ltd 

The Foundations, Herons Way, Chester Business 

Park, CH4 9QS Chester 

Tel. + 44 (0)1244 688000 

Tetra Pak Processing UK Ltd 

Swan House, Peregrine Business Park 

Gomm Road, High Wycombe HP13 7DL 

Tel +44 870 442 6400 

USA Tetra Pak Inc. 

3300 Airport Road, Denton, TX 76207 

Tel. +1 940 3842000 

Venezuela Tetra Pak C.A. 

Ave Francisco de Miranda Edif Torre 

KPMG piso 7, Chacao Caracas 1060 

Tel +58-212 277 71 00 

West Africa Tetra Pak West Africa Ltd 

2 IPM Avenue 

Alausa Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria 

Tel +234-1 448 23390 

Vietnam Tetra Pak Vietnam 

235 Dong Khoi Str Metropolitan Bldg 14th fl 

District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 

Tel +84- 8 3825 71 00

© 2014. Tetra Pak International, Lund, Sweden. Code 66103 en, 2014-10. 

Tetra Pak, ,PROTECTS WHAT’S GOOD, 

Tetra Brik, Tetra Classic, Tetra Evero, Tetra Fino,Tetra Gemina, 

Tetra Prisma, Tetra Recart, Tetra Rex, Tetra Top, and Tetra Wedge 

are some of the trademarks belonging to the Tetra Pak Group. 

www.tetrapak.com

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