Megacity residents globally have a positive attitude towards packaging as a potential sustainability problem-solver, and Packaging Sustainability is well understood and valued. However expectations on cities management of recycling, littering, waste and support for sustainable behavior and education differ. This is evident from the new BillerudKorsnäs consumer panel on Packaging Sustainability.
Packaging is a hot topic nowadays, discussed much more frequent on top level at brand owners, by politicians and NGO’s and most of all by consumers. To understand the power of consumers, the company have initiated its own consumer panel in 16 megacities* of the world to gather insights about the view on packaging’s role in society, how packaging can enable better solutions from an environmental point of view as well as the different megacities capability to support consumers in acting sustainable with packaging.
With an average of 54,1 NPA**, Packaging Sustainability is valued high by the panel representing megacities around the globe. These high scores indicate that most consumers have a positive attitude towards packaging as a potential problem-solver.
Consumers expectations not being met
In the Asian cities, where the total and personal indices were high, the much lower City Index scores show that consumers expectations on cities are not being met. In Europe, the opposite trend can be seen – the City Index is higher than the Personal Index, implying that consumers feel the cities are doing well, but that there is still a lot to be done on the individual front, and by brand owners. North America scores evenly on the personal and city levels, meaning that Americans have a positive personal attitude towards Packaging Sustainability and their own contribution, while the cities manage recycling and packaging information in a manner that lives up to the requirements of citizens.
Asian positive attitude
The breakdown shows some differences around the globe. In most Asian megacities, high positive Personal Index scores indicat that most consumers have a positive attitude towards packaging as a potential problem-solver. On the lower end of the index, they find mostly European megacities. Inhabitants of Tokyo score by far the lowest with 14,9 NPA**, hence Japanese consumers don’t believe that improved packaging can make the difference in improving sustainability.
“When interacting with our panels globally, we got excited over the interest and understanding for Packaging Sustainability most of them had. There is a strong momentum for brands and retailers to show how their packaging brings sustainable benefits. Over and over again the consumers ask for more fun and rewarding recycling as well as packaging that further reduce food waste. We now know better where to start packaging development, and that many stakeholders should do it jointly with us – brand owners, city mayors and recycling companies to name a few,” says Jon Haag, Director Consumer Insights at BillerudKorsnäs.
More reports and trends on Packaging Sustainability at: www.billerudkorsnas.com/about-us/global-trends
Consumer Panel and Packaging Sustainability Index
The survey was conducted online in May 2017 by Syno International / Cint on behalf of BillerudKorsnäs. A representative sample of 3,300 people based on age (18-65 years) and gender participated from 16 cities: Berlin, Delhi, Jakarta, Cairo, Karachi, Lagos, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Stockholm and Tokyo. BillerudKorsnäs Consumer Panel and Packaging Sustainability Index is a recurring series of surveys to further explore citizens view on packaging sustainability globally and locally.
* A megacity is defined by the United Nations as a metropolitan area with a total population of more than 10 million people. Some definitions also set a minimum level for population density (at least 2,000 persons/square km). Stockholm and Berlin do not qualify as megacities, but they are interesting as “early movers” in sustainability.
** The index used in BillerudKorsnäs Consumer Panel is NPA, Net Positive Attitude. The NPA is calculated as the share of consumers answering with the two most positive alternatives out of six, detracted with the share of consumers with the two most negative alternatives. With an average of 54,1 NPA, packaging sustainability is valued high by our panel representing megacities around the globe.
