Survey indicates perceived high cost as primary obstacle to sustainable packaging adoption

The high cost of using sustainable materials has often dissuaded designers from using sustainable materials for packaging, instead choosing cheaper options.

This is one of the key findings from a highly targeted survey of some of the world’s leading packaging designers by leading renewable biomaterials supplier, UPM.

The survey, conducted in collaboration with the Pentawards, has revealed unique insights into sustainable packaging design, including some of the key challenges faced by designers, with UPM highlighting how these can be overcome.

One respondent stated: “Everyone wants to be green, until they see that being green is usually more expensive.” While another noted: “I think the production end, or the manufacturers are not yet completely ready for this kind of change.”

Robert Taylor, sustainability director at UPM and member of the Pentawards jury, used a speaker opportunity at a recent Pentawards Meets closed event to discuss the findings in detail and address these challenges to help support designers and further drive sustainable innovation.

Commenting on the survey findings, Robert Taylor stated: “While cost has been highlighted as a barrier to embracing sustainable packaging design, it’s important to take a moment to consider what is the true cost of not doing so. We need a holistic approach that considers the value creation potential in a market that is growing twice as fast for sustainable products.

“This is especially key as the impact of new regulation and green finance kicks in, with carbon taxes, plastics taxes and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees just a few examples. Reducing packaging is one of the most effective ways to reduce impact and cost. Using less raw material, water and energy and generating less waste or having a more effective supply chains brings savings and reduces the environmental footprint.”

“As an industry, we need to understand the true cost of sustainable packaging design and embrace innovations that will help us meet the ambitious environmental targets set. We are faced with more climate, biodiversity and water crises across the globe every day but with only 15% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on track to meet their target levels by 2030, not taking action towards improving sustainable packaging is simply not an option. We need to move forward faster.”

The survey results also show that while the majority (47%) of the designer respondents feel extremely comfortable handling briefs that include sustainability requirements, 43% of packaging designers would prefer more direction or information to feel fully comfortable when dealing with these briefs. This highlights a need for further education on how to incorporate sustainability into packaging design, with most respondents (35%) suggesting material guides would be the most beneficial.

Further findings reveal that 57% of the designer respondents believe they always or often have the opportunity to impact the material choice of a product. However, 20% say they seldom do, and 17% almost never, which suggests some clients may not have yet realised the value of exploring alternative and more sustainable packaging solutions.

Adam Ryan, head of Pentawards noted the “really interesting insights” from the survey with UPM, will be shared challenges as well as improvements and the ways of working in sustainable design.

“It’s great to see that brands and agencies are now so willing to share insights and learnings which benefits the industry as a whole,” Ryan said. “Sustainability in design is continuously developing and it’s so important that we at Pentawards are part of this.”

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