Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility Through Product Packaging

Why CSR matters

Communicating CSR is a way for companies to increase profits, boost their reputation among consumers and employees, and continually drive product and service innovation. CSR is an important practice for multiple reasons, chief among them:

• It spurs innovation. CSR inspires businesses to develop ways to make their products and services more sustainable, which can lead to improvements.
• Customers want it. According to the 2017 Cone Communications CSR study, 87% of consumers will buy something because a company supports an issue that matters to them. The study found 76% of consumers will refuse to purchase products or services if a company supports an issue that does not align with their beliefs.
• It is important to employees, too. According to a 2017 survey of over 2,000 workers by BetterUp Labs, a San Francisco-based leadership development platform, meaningful work is a top driver of job satisfaction — so much so that 90% of professionals would sacrifice 23% of future earnings for work that is always meaningful.

Additionally, cost savings can be achieved with CSR. Information technology company HP set a goal to ensure all paper-based product packaging would be derived from certified recycled sources by 2020. Working with Billerud, the company optimized the box design with new materials that resulted in using 29% less material, reducing potential carbon dioxide emissions by 5,000 metric tons. It also resulted in cost savings of up to $5 million annually.

Similarly, a manufacturer of outdoor grilling products developed and implemented a new packaging solution from renewable, fiber-based material, the shift resulted in the removal of 47,000 kg of PET plastics each year from the packaging's lifecycle.

What CSR Conveyed via Packaging Looks Like

Various elements can be used for communicating CSR through packaging:

• Graphics related to sustainability and recyclability. These can include a recycling symbol or graphics from nature, like a tree or leaf. Some companies may also create a graphic that shows the impact of their product on the environment, for example, every purchase of a product resulting in one tree being planted.
• Text. Companies can use text on packaging to explain CSR efforts.
• Minimal packaging. Reducing packaging material decreases impact throughout the supply chain. 
• Repackagability. If the package can be reused, show the consumer how on the packaging.

CSR information on packaging must be verifiable and updated whenever there is a change. Misleading or false information will hurt customer sentiment and sales. According to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, 63% of global consumers will stop buying from a company they do not trust.

A number of apparel brands have successfully communicated their sustainability efforts through packaging.

Converse

Source: Converse

Footwear and apparel company Converse outlines how it aims to use sustainable materials, whether they are grown, derived or raised. In 2018, Converse announced 75% of all shoes and clothes now contain some recycled material. The company claims it uses more recycled polyester than any other business in the industry.

Nike (Converse’s parent company) has similarly sustainable packaging. Their Air Max packaging is made from recycled drink containers and lids, which also helped to garner business interest through its unique design that promoted packaging reuse. Nike's traditional corrugated board shoeboxes are recyclable.

“We are constantly integrating more sustainable ways of working across our business. But we recognize that many issues facing business and society are greater than one brand can solve alone. To achieve systemic change we must understand risk and embrace innovation as a way to accelerate positive impacts at scale. Collaboration and unconventional partnerships will be critical to our collective ability to design more sustainable business systems.” 

-Hannah Jones, Nike Chief Sustainability Officer & Vice President

adidas

In 2019, footwear company adidas announced plans to increase the amount of shoes containing recycled plastic from 5 million pairs in 2018 to 11 million pairs in 2019. It also produces apparel containing plastic waste, which is picked up on beaches before it reaches oceans.

Adidas developed a 100% recyclable shoe in 2019, which it is set to release in 2021. Adidas also signed the Climate Protection Charter for the Fashion Industry at the UN Climate Change Conference, agreeing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.

Packaging-wise, adidas stopped using plastic bags in stores in 2016. Adidas shoe boxes are recyclable. When adidas does have to use plastics for tasks such as transport packaging, the company uses counterbalancing measures to make up for the plastics used, the company announced in 2019.

“With adidas products made from recycled plastic, we offer our consumers real added value beyond the look, functionality and quality of the product, because every shoe is a small contribution to the preservation of our oceans. After one million pairs of shoes produced in 2017, five million in 2018, we plan to produce eleven million pairs of shoes containing recycled ocean plastic in 2019.”

Eric Liedtke, adidas Executive Board Member Responsible For Global Brands

H&M

Source: H&M

In 2019, fashion brand H&M announced significant strides in sustainability, with 57% of all product materials being created using recycled or other sustainably sourced fibers. That is an increase from 35% in 2018. By 2020, the company aims to use 100% recycled cotton, up from 95% in 2019.

Sustainable packaging is also important to the company. H&M has a policy that any paper used from fiber from countries with tropical rainforests must be Forest Stewardship Council certified. This is an example of a certification that can be used on packaging for communicating CSR.

H&M also has a circular packaging strategy, which includes reducing the amount of packaging used and increasing material reuse and recycling. The business has set a goal that all packaging will be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, and the company will use 100% recycled and other sustainably sourced materials in packaging by 2030.

“As a major player in the industry, we are well-positioned to not only be part of but to also lead the change on this journey. One area that we have been focusing on for awhile is the shift from a linear to a circular business model, where we have the ambition to become fully circular. We are also constantly innovating and developing our sustainability work in line with other developments in the industry.”

 -Anna Gedda, H&M Head of Sustainability

Working Together Toward CSR

Corporate social responsibility is inherently good for society and the planet as a whole. That is why businesses need to come together to promote CSR. As more customers are informed about the benefits, sales for companies promoting those values will also benefit.

At Billerud we work with other organizations to promote innovation, improve sustainability and share best practices across industries:

We believe that partnerships and strategic working relationships with other organizations will help us better tackle global sustainability challenges.