Will the consumer put their money where their mouth is when it comes to sustainability?

We could be forgiven for expressing scepticism towards consumers’ pronouncements on sustainability. In the UK, for example, multiple retailer Asda found recently that half of the consumers in the country are unwilling to pay extra for more sustainable products.

Whilst willingness may differ from reality, it’s questionable whether this data paints a true picture of the situation, particularly when it comes to packaging. Indeed, our research had different findings.

Pro Carton’s Europe-wide survey found that nearly three quarters (73%) of UK shoppers would pay more for a product if the packaging had less impact on the environment. Across the continent, 65% of consumers admit they had already switched brands because of packaging concerns.

Furthermore, when asked what the most important packaging features are, one in three (73.9%) UK consumers value packaging that’s easy to recycle - the highest across Europe, followed closely by consumers in Spain (73.4%) and Italy (72.2%).

With more than half of Brits (61.4%) actively recycling more of their waste over the last 12 months, and 68.2% ranking recycling among the top three ways to reduce climate change, there’s clearly a growing understanding - and appetite - to do more for the environment through consumption and purchasing decisions.

Interestingly, younger consumers are quicker to recognise the impact a throwaway lifestyle has on the planet and are willing to act on it. The survey finds that younger UK consumers - aged 22-to-28 - are most willing to spend more (88%) for the sake of the environment whereas those in the over-65 category, are the least likely to pay more. Still, three in five (59%) would spend extra for more eco-friendly packaging.

What's more, cartonboard was confirmed as the packaging material of choice with 79% of European consumers - 75% in the UK - agreeing on cartonboard as their preferred solution for environmentally friendly packaging.

Whilst consumers may be willing to pay more in theory, perhaps in a bid to do good, there are limitations to the shelf price in practice. What’s clear is that there’s a monetary threshold at which the scale of willingness tips. Of the 73% willing to pay more for a product packaged sustainably, 34% said they would pay 0%-to-5% more and 26% said they were willing to pay 5%-to-10% more than currently. The numbers drop significantly past this threshold, however, with just 11% willing to pay 10%-to-20% more and just 2% willing to pay more than 20% extra.

As environmental concerns continue to take centre stage, consumers are more willing to base their purchasing decisions on minimising their environmental impact. Here, an understanding of the life cycle of cartonboard - along with the success of the recycling value chain - demonstrates how the material fits within the circular economy and continues to further build consumer trust over alternative packaging materials.

While functionality and costs have helped to drive the popularity of materials such as plastics, priorities have been changing over decades and, as a result, so are the packaging materials used.

Consumers recognise a sustainable product firstly from its packaging. The latest product innovations in packaging have evolved with a strong focus on sustainability in mind. In most cases, special requirements on raw materials or production processes will add costs. Stakeholders across the board, from consumers to FMCG brands and retailers, are all looking to embrace the most environmentally friendly alternatives that also deliver on performance, functionality and price.

This is where the cartonboard industry comes in. Not only do cartons deliver on functionality - they successfully protect a product through its entire life cycle from transportation to the shop shelf - they also deliver on-shelf design appeal and aid accessibility and recyclability at the end of the product’s life. For example, cartonboard with a functional barrier creates sustainable and safe food packaging. And, with recent EU proposals to boost recycling targets, the focus is shifting to those materials that promise the most economical and environmental benefits.

While our research paints a different picture to Asda’s, there’s one aspect of the report I fully agree with: It takes full alignment along the value chain to decide on the solutions that carry a lower environmental impact and to minimise the 'price barrier' to greener choices. The long-term impact of consumption is deeply concerning, and last November’s discussions at COP26 highlight just how quickly we need change.

Climate concerns are a shared problem that we all must solve together.

A question posed by every brand and retailer that seems to produce many different answers, is whether or not consumers are actually willing to spend their money when it comes to sustainability. For example, major UK supermarket chain, Asda, recently launched research suggesting that half of Brits are unwilling to pay extra for more sustainable products. Whilst willingness may differ from reality, I am not sure this data paints a true picture of the situation, particularly when it comes to packaging; in fact, our research had different findings.

A Europe-wide survey conducted by Pro Carton found that nearly three quarters (73%) of UK shoppers would pay more for a product if the packaging had less impact on the environment. The same survey found that 65% of European consumers admitted to having already switched brands because of packaging concerns. Furthermore, when asked about what the most important packaging features are, one in three (73.9%) UK consumers valued packaging that was easy to recycle – the highest across Europe, followed closely by consumers in Spain (73.4%) and Italy (72.2%).

There is clearly a growing understanding and appetite to do more for the environment through consumption and purchasing decisions, as more than half of Brits (61.4%) have been actively recycling more of their waste over the last 12 months, and 68.2% ranking recycling among the top three ways to reduce climate change.

Interestingly, younger consumers are quicker to recognise the impact a throwaway lifestyle has on the planet and are willing to act on it. The survey found that younger British consumers – aged 22-28 – were most willing to spend more (88%) for the sake of the environment whereas those in the over 65 category, were the least likely to pay more.

Still, three in five (59%) would spend extra for more eco-friendly packaging. What's more, cartonboard was confirmed as the packaging material of choice with 79% of European consumers – comparably 75% of UK – consumers agreeing on cartonboard as their preferred solution for environmentally friendly packaging. The younger generation in particular is concerned about the impact their purchasing decisions have on the environment.

We recognise that whilst consumers may in theory be willing to pay more, perhaps in a bid to do good, there are limitations to the shelf price in practice. What’s clear is that there is a monetary threshold in which the scale of willingness is tipped. Out of the 73% who were willing to pay more for a product packaged sustainably, 34% said they would pay 0-5% more and 26% said they were willing to pay 5-10% more. However, these numbers dropped significantly past this threshold, with just 11% willing to pay 10-20% more and just 2% willing to pay more than 20% extra.

As environmental concerns continue to take centre stage, our research demonstrates that consumers are more willing to make purchasing decisions that minimise their environmental impact. Here, an understanding of the life cycle of cartonboard and the success of the recycling value chain, demonstrates how the material fits within the circular economy and continues to further build consumer trust in the use of cartonboard over alternative packaging materials.

While functionality and costs have helped to drive the popularity of materials, such as plastics, over decades priorities are changing and as a result, so too are the packaging materials used. Consumers recognize a sustainable product firstly from the packaging. The latest product innovations in packaging evolved with a strong focus on sustainability in mind.

In most cases, special requirements on raw materials or production processes will add costs. Stakeholders across the board, from consumers to FMCG brands and retailers are all looking to embrace the most environmentally friendly alternatives that also deliver on performance, functionality, and price.

This is where the cartonboard industry comes in. Not only do cartons deliver on functionality - they successfully protect a product through its entire life cycle from transportation to the shop shelf. They deliver on-shelf design appeal and aid accessibility and recyclability at the end of the product’s life. For example, cartonboard with a functional barrier creates sustainable and safe food packaging, and with recent EU proposals boosting recycling targets, the focus is shifting to those materials that promise the most economical and environmental benefits.

While our research paints a different picture to Asda’s research, there was one aspect of the report that I fully agree with: that it takes full alignment along the value chain to decide on the solutions with a lower environmental impact and to minimize the 'price barrier' to greener choices. The long-term impact of consumption is deeply concerning, and the recent discussions at COP26 highlight just how quickly we need change. Climate concerns are a shared problem that we all must solve together.