How consumers reward brand's commitment to sustainability

Consumers often say sustainability is important to them when choosing a product. But how does that translate to sales?

The answer is good news for sustainable brands, according to research from NielsenIQ and McKinsey. Findings published in their recent joint report, “Consumers care about sustainability – and back it up with their wallets,” showed that products claiming responsible practices around environment, social issues and governance (ESG) have a meaningful competitive advantage over those that don’t.

In a recent webinar, representatives from McKinsey, NielsenIQ and Amcor discussed the research, uncovering valuable insights about the role of ESG claims in consumer decision-making.

Sustainability is front of mind for consumers, particularly sustainable packaging.

The research shows that “packaging is table stakes,” said Sherry Frey, vice president of NielsenIQ’s Total Wellness practice. “In relation to all the other kinds of claims or statements consumers are thinking about around sustainability, packaging is that one that has a really high level of awareness and really high level of importance from a consumer standpoint.”

Products that make ESG claims grow 2x faster than those that don’t — and products with claims in multiple categories grow faster than those that make only one, or none at all.

Even in categories with lots of products saying the same thing — for example, “made with recycle-ready material”— products making an ESG claim outperform those that don’t, said Vinit Doshi, a senior expert with McKinsey. That advantage grows when products make claims in two or more categories, such as sustainable packaging, animal welfare and social responsibility.

“Those products tend to have two to three times the rate of growth than products with no claim or only one claim,” Doshi said. “So, there’s a bundling effect, or synergistic effect, that consumers seem to be responding to.”

These findings make clear that sustainable packaging matters.

The McKinsey-NielsenIQ research found that up to 34 percent of households returned to brands where at least half of sales came from products with ESG claims.

That shows that consumers are rewarding brands for sustainability efforts, and packaging plays an important role in that, said Roawin Luo, director of global product management for Amcor’s AmPrima™ line. “It’s not just a protection to the products in the conventional way of using packaging,” Luo said. “It’s a communication tool for brands to speak to consumers’ minds, to what matters to them. It’s a vehicle to carry this mission about sustainability, about making this world better, all together.”

How does Amcor help stakeholders realize the competitive advantage of sustainable packaging claims?

Working with Amcor, brands are partnering with a supplier that is on track to make 100% of its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. We’ve also tripled our use of post-consumer recycled content since 2019.

In addition to our suite of recycle-ready packaging products, Amcor offers customers a range of marketing and product development services through our Catalyst™ innovation centers around the world. We’re proud to pair industry-leading experts with customers looking to think outside the box and find responsible, innovative product solutions for a fast-changing world.