On August 15, 2023, consulting firm McKinsey’s Materials Practice arm published a report investigating consumer perceptions of sustainability in food packaging. As part of the report, they surveyed consumers’ attitudes toward sustainable packaging across eleven countries (US, Mexico, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, India, China, Japan). A total of 11,500 responses by consumers were included in the survey.
Consumers were asked about how important they deem hygiene and food safety now compared to the time before COVID-19, which aspects of food packaging shape their purchasing habits, how they rank different environmental impacts of food packaging, and how sustainable they think different packaging types are.
The most highly prioritized factors the consumers consider when making purchasing decisions are hygiene & food safety and shelf life, across all surveyed countries. On a global average, the environmental impact of food packaging receives the second lowest priority, only above appearance.
Concerning environmental impacts of food packaging, water pollution and ocean litter were generally on the top of people’s minds, while natural resource depletion was on average perceived as the least important. However, there are differences across the countries. “Consumers in developing economies, especially China, Brazil, and India, are more concerned about both air and water pollution, while ocean litter is top of mind for most consumers in Europe, Japan, and the United States,” the report indicates. Additionally, in all surveyed countries, most consumers are reportedly willing to pay more for sustainable packaging. This willingness is even higher in developing nations, according to the report.
When asked to rank different packaging types for sustainability, consumers across most surveyed countries agreed that compostable packaging, plant-based packaging, and plastic films made from renewable raw materials that can be compostable should rank highest. On the other hand, metal containers, multi-material packaging (combining plastic, paper, and aluminum), and aluminum foil wraps are perceived as the least sustainable food packaging types.
Studies have shown that compostable plastics show higher toxicity, which further increases with degradation and composting, than conventional plastics (FPF reported). Stakeholders, such as the European Commission, concluded that biodegradable – including compostable – plastics are not a silver bullet for inappropriate waste management or plastic littering (FPF reported and here). Additionally, biodegradable plastics just like conventional ones can contain a variety of potentially harmful substances (FPF reported).
The Food Packaging Forum together with other non-profits and international food providers including Sodexo, Compass Group, and Aramark are developing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool for food providers to easily compare a variety of food packaging materials on multiple metrics including climate change, water use, plastic pollution, and chemicals of concern. The Understanding Packaging Scorecard (UP Scorecard) is currently still under development but v0.3 is available to try. The methodology is also online and regularly updated to make the UP Scorecard as transparent as possible.
Reference
McKinsey & Company (August 15, 2023). “Sustainability in packaging 2023: Inside the minds of global consumers.”
