Voluntary sustainable packaging goals are on the way out, Gartner says

Packaging Dive reported the development on 2025-07-25. Companies are aligning their sustainability strategies with emerging legislation, such as EPR laws, according to the consulting firm. Adapting now can have cost advantages down the line.

The report places the news in a wider commercial context. Approximately 75% of organizations that voluntarily established sustainable packaging targets will sunset those goals by 2028, predicts consulting firm Gartner. Instead, these companies — primarily brands and CPGs, but also potentially packaging manufacturers — are shifting their strategies to align with emerging legislative guidelines, such as extended producer responsibility laws, the firm says.

For the food sector, the practical implications extend beyond the immediate announcement. Gartner offered recommendations for companies during this shift. For instance, companies should be proactive and start adapting their sustainability strategies to align with legislation now to avoid negative consequences, such as the growing costs of EPR, down the road.

Attention now turns to how companies, customers and regulators respond. Legislation driving change within brands’ and packaging companies’ sustainability strategies is prompting a lot of industry discussion at the moment. For instance, GreenBlue Executive Director Paul Nowak said at the Packaging Recycling Summit in June that “we are in a watershed moment” and EPR is driving the most change he has seen in the packaging sustainability space in 30 years.