More and more companies are embracing sustainable packaging. In 2023, the global sustainable packaging market was an estimated $279.93 billion. Projections show it will reach $448.53 billion by 2030, with a 7.6 percent compound annual growth rate.
But what is sustainable packaging? The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) defines it as “an approach to designing, producing, and distributing packaging in ways that consider holistic impacts on people and the planet.” SPC identifies five key elements behind sustainable packaging:
- These elements are: adopting a systems approach, ensuring material health, prioritizing accessibility, reducing and eliminating waste, and incorporating life-cycle thinking in packaging design.
- Advances the use of recycled materials and renewable feedstocks that are sustainably sourced.
- Designed for recyclability, reusability, or compostability with a label containing end-of-life instructions.
- Engages with reuse and refill models.
- Invests in the growth of recycling and composting infrastructure, collection, and access.
Examples of Sustainable Packaging
Three companies illustrate sustainable packaging:
In 2024, Google made all packaging for Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest devices plastic-free, recyclable, and partially made from recycled newspaper, and shared its Plastic-Free Packaging Design Guide.
In 2023, Nokia announced fully recyclable packaging for its Lightspan line and aims for high waste circularity by 2030. Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical is the first to use bio-polyethylene packaging, cutting carbon emissions by up to 70 percent.
In 2023, the Finland-based company Nokia announced it would transition to 100 percent recyclable packaging for its Fixed Networks Lightspan portfolio. The company also has a goal for 95 percent of all of its waste to be circular by 2030. In a circular economy, none of the materials end up in landfills. Nokia’s annual waste circularity outcome in 2024 was 81 percent.
Nokia has three other 2030 goals for packaging:
- All packaging will be 100% recyclable.
- Cardboard and plastic packaging materials will contain at least 50 percent recycled content.
- Plastic packaging will be limited to no more than 10 percent by weight of its total primary packaging.
The Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical is the first pharmaceutical company to use packaging made from bio-polyethylene (bio-PE). The use of it helps reduce carbon emissions by up to 70 percent compared to its fossil-fuel-based alternative.
The Drivers of Sustainable Packaging
Consumer demand is one of the two drivers of sustainable packaging growth. Most consumers (90 percent) are more likely to buy products from brands with sustainable packaging, according to a 2025 survey by Shorr’s. Nearly half of those polled are willing to pay more for a product with sustainable packaging, and 39 percent said they have switched to competing brands that offer sustainable packaging.
State Extended Producer Responsibility laws are the other driver of growth. Through EPRs, states are taking action to reduce packaging waste, according to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s 2025 Sustainable Packaging Trends report. In 2021, Maine passed the first state Extended Producer Responsibility law that targeted packaging. Since then, Oregon, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington have passed similar laws. Through EPR laws, states are redefining what can be labeled recyclable and going beyond how the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides define recyclability.
In 2022, California became the first state to pass a law to reduce single-use plastic packaging. The law requires producers to reduce single-use plastic by 25 percent by 2032. By 2028, 30 percent of plastic sold in the state must be recyclable, and 65 percent by 2032. Producers will bear the cost, and non-compliance will result in a fine of up to $50,000 a day.
“State EPR laws drive more sustainable packaging by shifting the responsibility of recycling systems from taxpayers and municipalities to the producers of the packaging themselves,” SPC told us. “The fees producers pay go towards collection, processing, and recycling of materials and give them a financial incentive to want to lower those costs.”
Consumer sentiment can drive positive change. Let’s encourage more state governments to implement Extended Producer Responsibility laws–and soon.
