How to engage stakeholders in the sustainable packaging journey

The urgent need to fight plastic pollution, coupled with a change in consumer preferences, has pushed the pedal on sustainable packaging. We’re seeing giants like Nestlé fundamentally rethinking their supply chain and packaging systems - not only because it’s good for the planet and the people but also because it’s good for business. 

However, mobilising stakeholder support in favour of sustainability transformation is still a tricky area for most, leading to wide ‘consensus gaps’ between leadership and stakeholders. According to a survey, only 21% of employees think their companies have a robust sustainability plan in place. This is in sharp contrast to the top leadership, where 68% believe they’re well-prepared to drive sustainability. 

In other words, businesses that are serious about making meaningful change need to have their stakeholders by their side. In this article, I will discuss the importance of charting out a stakeholder-centric sustainability journey and the ways to do so. 

Internal stakeholders: empowering employees for a greener future

Imagine an organisation where every employee, regardless of their department, incorporates social and environmental responsibility in every decision they make. You have to agree that this company’s leadership would find it quite easy to achieve its sustainability goals. 

Here’s what these companies could be doing differently to create a company-wide culture of sustainability:

1. Collaboration: As a business owner or a leader, you might have already noticed that not every function in your organisation is singing from the same song sheet when it comes to sustainability. A McKinsey survey found that while 92% of those in product development are aware of the company’s sustainable packaging goals, the number drops to 67% for sales and marketing employees. Collaboration in the form of regular meetings and cross-function projects can spark innovation and drive sustainability more holistically. 
2. Incentives: At Planet Protector, incentivising employees to contribute to green initiatives has shaped several employee-led projects. So, yes, meaningful incentives, whether in the form of compensation or recognition, are key to embedding sustainability across organisations. Because when you link goals to incentives and rewards, you’re highlighting the strategic importance of sustainability. Granted, designing such incentives is a complex process, but it gets a whole lot easier when you base them on clear metrics. 
3. Sustainability metrics: When I say clear metrics, I mean quantifiable, measurable metrics such as carbon emissions, percentage of recycled content, water footprint, and percentage of renewable energy consumed - all of which are crucial for developing performance-linked initiatives. Sadly, less than 30% of organisations have such metrics in place, without which sustainability can become somewhat of a wild-goose chase.
4. Upskilling: Despite it being a key enabler in democratising sustainability in an organisation, more than 80% of companies don’t have up-to-date training programs to improve sustainability literacy in place - which to me is rather odd since you can’t fight the enemy (climate change) unless you understand it. 

Upskilling or green skilling is essential for a company-wide focus on sustainable packaging innovation and cross-departmental collaboration. Deloitte was one of the first big ones to launch a climate learning programme for all its employees. Yes, about 457,000 of them! The training module tackled sustainability, climate, and equity and quickly became the top bookmarked resource for the employees.

External stakeholders: building strong relationships with partners

While you may have some stakeholders who welcome your sustainability agenda with open arms, what about the others? How do you win over investors, clients, or suppliers and get them to prioritise sustainability?

Suppliers: The rise of global supply chains has been a game-changer for businesses because they make it possible to source materials from different markets and manufacture them at lower costs. But it all comes at a huge cost to the environment. Imagine the amount of plastic waste being created at every step of such supply chains! At my company, we work closely with suppliers to build transparent and localised supply chains. We don’t source fine Merino that’s already much in demand, but coarse wool from cross-bred sheep. 

Consumers: Whether you’re selling to other businesses or directly to consumers, the importance of customer feedback in driving sustainability cannot be overemphasised. It’s when we listen we can improve and design products that can help our customers make good on their commitments. 

The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) had already set ambitious ESG targets when they reached out to us. They wanted an environmentally friendly alternative to polystyrene that fit their budget and offered the same temperature stability. 

Long story short, Woolpack helped reduce RCPA’s carbon footprint as well as freight costs by a whopping 66%. However, not every client would come to you aware of their environmental and social responsibilities. This is where rolling out awareness campaigns on waste disposal, recycling, etc., can prove to be game-changing.

Investors: Large investment firms are taking ESG seriously, so much so that they’re making it a part of due diligence and credit ratings. It’s your short-term investors, shareholders, and portfolio managers that you have to worry about. For them, ESG-related initiatives might seem more like a cost. If you want them to support your sustainability agenda, you need to show them its value. In other words, you have to work on creating a compelling equity story that links sustainability efforts with financial performance. Your reporting should go beyond sharing ESG metrics to showing their strategic impact on your business model.

Community and government engagement: leading through advocacy and responsibility

Small businesses investing in sustainable technologies could be tricky, especially since the failure rates are so high. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), only 50% of the businesses that started in 2019 made it past 2023. Cultivating partnerships with environmental organisations and participating in initiatives launched by the government can make it easiest to integrate sustainability into your business. Collaborations like these can give you access to technical expertise and new markets and help you navigate regulatory requirements. 

You don’t have to be a big player in your industry to take up advocacy. You can do it even in your company’s formative years. In less than a decade of our existence, Planet Protector has been actively involved in shaping regulations and policies that support sustainable packaging. Our advocacy efforts helped us win a $4.8 million federal government grant to build sovereign capacity for circular economy-based textile solutions.

Transparency: building trust through open communication

Greenwashing has made consumers wary of a company’s environmental stewardship claim, so much so that only 20% trust a brand’s sustainability claims. The same holds for other stakeholders. Vague messaging or merely stating sustainability ambitions may not be enough to rally support. 

Transparency, especially when it comes to sustainability reporting, can go a long way in showing your employees, customers, and investors that you’re walking the talk. Communicate regularly and make the discussions more meaningful by sharing progress on metrics like carbon footprint reduction and waste minimisation. Finally, celebrate wins, but don’t hesitate to discuss failures and invite feedback. No organisation is perfect, and sharing your vulnerability can do wonders in creating bonds of trust.

The power of collective action

When you’re tackling an unprecedented challenge like climate change through your sustainability aspiration, you need all the help you can get and as little resistance as possible. No matter how ambitious your sustainability goals are, the journey gets a lot smoother and way more impactful if you have your own flock - employees and external stakeholders on your side. 

How do you tackle stakeholders when it comes to sustainability? Let me know what strategies work for you in the comments below.