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According to Esko's recent 2025 Packaging Trends report, 80% of respondents say that sustainability will be an important issue for them this coming year. In the intro to the report, Esko cites statistics many of us have already heard:

• Two-thirds of consumers refuse to buy from companies that "fail to address issues they care about."

• Consumers are willing to pay up to 40% more for certain sustainability features (note: "certain," which is undefined).

• 90% of shoppers under the age of 45 are willing to pay more for certain sustainability features.

But do consumers actually put their money where their mouths are? According to an extensive study of consumer purchasing patterns (not just sentiment, as most companies track) by McKinskey in 2023, the answer is yes. Over a five-year period, McKinskey analyzed the sales number of 600,000 SKUs representing $400 billion in annual revenue. During this period, McKinsey found that products making sustainability claims on their packaging averaged 28% cumulative growth over five years compared to 20% for those that didn't.

Pursuing sustainability is worth it, even if you are primarily interested from a monetary perspective.

How Do You Define Sustainability?

But how do we define "sustainability"? Sure, it includes recyclable packaging, but how else is it defined? Esko decided to ask its customers how they determine whether they are succeeding in their efforts. Here's what they said (in the order of importance):

• Reduced carbon footprint

• Compliance with regulations

• Customer feedback

• Cost savings

Compliance with regulations is an interesting bullet point because, while compliance is non-negotiable, there are targets within regulations, that, for those serious about sustainability, could be goals regardless.

For example, as Esko writes, the EU's EcoDesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) includes targets such as "setting specific targets for packaging reduction, mandatory reusable packaging systems for certain sectors, and stricter recycling requirements." The regulation also "seeks to reduce over-packaging and improve the recyclability of materials."

Key for the industry, Esko notes, is materials science, as suppliers look to "transition from oil-based multi-layer substrates to bio-based mono layer structures and wood-fiber based carton boards with similar properties."

For companies looking to genuinely improve the sustainability of their packaging, those would be great targets to shoot for, even if regulations don't require them now and even if they never do.

Customers Define Sustainability

Customer feedback is another interesting bullet point. After all, it doesn't matter how "sustainable" you make your packaging if consumers don't define sustainability the same way you do. They have to think it's sustainable too, not just you.

The Esko report discusses topics such as automation, digitization, packaging design, and materials selection along with the innovations developed by Esko in each of these areas. It does not delve into the issue of customer feedback. For any company producing packaged goods, a great question to ask is how you are communicating your sustainability efforts to those customers because consumers don't know unless you tell them. and, in turn, how you get that feedback.

Among the top things consumers care about? Cited in various studies we often see recyclability, biodegradability, energy reduction, and alignment with consumers' favorite social causes. But how do companies communicate this alignment? Don't say "social media." How many of us are really connected to our favorite food, power tool, and landscape brands on TikTok?

For the greatest visibility, sustainability claims are typically made on the packaging itself: "eco-friendly," "now manufactured with 20% less water!" "fair trade." As we could see from the McKinsey study, these claims do make a difference.

How Do You Know It’s Working?

Monitoring feedback to determine whether your efforts are really working and using that feedback to tweak the presentation of your packaging in the future is a terrific goal. But how do you go about doing it? Social listening? Tracking calls to the call center? That's what companies have to figure out. After all, how many people are really calling brands to provide feedback on their packaging?

Put all together, these points raise some interesting questions. What is driving your sustainability goals? Minimum regulatory requirements? Genuine concern about the planet? Desire to increase brand visibility and sales? All of these things will drive different targets. So define your goals carefully because the path to achieving each one is not interchangeable.