Many of the UK's leading food and drinks brands will be packaged in FSC-labelled cartons, with the news that manufacturer Tetra Pak is rolling out the FSC logo on 75% of its cartons in the UK and Ireland.

Tetra Pak will boost its supply of FSC-certified cartons from the 200m available globally in 2008 to 1.5bn packs in the UK and Ireland alone.

Several major brands have signed up to use the FSC-labelled cartons. In the next 12 months, brands including Princes, Ribena, Rubicon, Moo and retailer own-labels will package products in the FSC-labelled cartons.

The majority of Tetra Pack cartons in the UK and Ireland now use paperboard sourced from FSC-certified forests and other controlled sources.

The launch is part of Tetra Pak's bid to attain certified traceability along the entire supply chain, from the sourcing of raw materials through to recycling and recovery.

The news builds on previous FSC initiatives launched by Tetra Pak in the UK. In 2007, it unveiled the Recart range for Sainsbury's chopped tomatoes. The supermarket chain then decide to package its organic pulses in the Recart.

Then, earlier this year, Innocent launched packaging bearing the FSC logo across its kids smoothies range using the Tetra Wedge Aseptic carton.

Nils Björkman, Tetra Pak's executive vice president of commercial operations, said: We have an ongoing commitment to the highest standards of forest management and are thrilled to be able to achieve the highest standard of certification for the majority of our UK and Irish cartons.

Today's announcement has been welcomed by the WWF-UK. Julia Young, speaking on behalf of the charity, "applauded" Tetra Pak.

"This is a positive step to make sure that everyday consumption is reducing its impact on the forests of the world and supporting a more sustainable pattern to the way we lead our lives," she said.

All European mills that supply Tetra Pak with paperboard have FSC Chain of Custody certification in place.

Tetra Pak is on track to reduce its carbon emissions by 10% by 2010. Under the ACE (The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment) initiative, it - and competitors Elopak and SIG Combibloc - are committed to recycling its cartons.