A Better Way to Market Sustainable Products: Insights from NYU Stern and PwC Research

As consumer demand for sustainable products grows, companies face challenges in effectively marketing these goods to realize their full value. New research by NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) and PwC offers practical guidance to help marketers navigate this complex landscape.

The Business Case for Sustainable Products

Sustainable products demonstrate strong growth and can command significant price premiums:

• Sales Growth: CSB analyzed 12 years of U.S. point-of-sale data across 36 consumer product categories, covering about 40% of the consumer packaged goods market. Between 2019 and 2024, sustainability-marketed products grew at 12.3% annually — more than double the rate of conventional products.
• Market Share: These products reached nearly 24% of total sales in 2024.
• Price Premiums: PwC’s 2024 survey of 20,000 consumers found they are willing to pay an average of 9.7% more for sustainably produced goods. Actual data shows an average price premium of 26.6%, with some categories like paper products exceeding 100%, and coffee, cereal, and chocolate around 50%.

Targeting the Right Customer Segments

Certain consumer groups are more inclined to buy sustainability-marketed goods:

• Millennials, college-educated people, city dwellers, and high-income earners lead in purchasing sustainable products.
• Some categories, like dairy, show strong sustainable product sales across all age groups.

Action Point: Understand and prioritize customer segments most interested in sustainable options within your product categories.

Crafting Effective Marketing Messages

Successful sustainable product promotions blend core product benefits with sustainability messages:

• The foundational claim should highlight a core product quality (e.g., "rich and delicious" chocolate or "clean-smelling" soap).
• Adding one or two relevant sustainability claims boosts appeal and overall product attractiveness by up to 30 percentage points.
• Sustained appeal occurs when sustainability claims are closely tied to product attributes important to customers (e.g., “formulated with sustainable ingredients that are good for your skin” in skincare).

Prioritizing Credible and Trusted Sustainability Claims

Not all sustainability messages resonate equally with consumers:

• Highly Effective Claims emphasize benefits to consumers such as:

  • Protecting human health (no harmful ingredients)
  • Saving money
  • Supporting local farms and food systems
  • Helping children and future generations
  • Preserving animal health
  • Using local or sustainable sources

• Less Effective Claims involve scientific jargon (biodegradable, climate-neutral), traceability details, packaging claims (except for all-recycled content), and sustainability certifications alone.

Action Point: Build claims that are precise, evidence-backed, and consumer-focused rather than abstract or legalistic.

Navigating Regulatory and Legal Considerations

Companies should be vigilant about evolving regulations to avoid legal risks:

• Ambiguous claims like "clean," "natural," or "safe" are increasingly challenged in lawsuits, especially for products used by children or applied to skin.
• European regulations such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and potential EU Green Claims Directive will require substantiation of environmental claims with scientific evidence and standards.
• Building capabilities in supply chain traceability and value chain analysis is critical for compliance and consumer trust.

Conclusion

The collaboration between NYU Stern’s CSB and PwC highlights clear principles for marketing sustainable products effectively:

• Leverage data to quantify growth and justify investment.
• Target and understand sustainability-minded consumers.
• Integrate sustainability with core product benefits in marketing.
• Prioritize trustworthy, consumer-relevant claims with solid evidence.
• Stay ahead of evolving regulations through robust compliance systems.

By adopting these strategies, brands can unlock the full potential of sustainability in their product offerings — driving growth, commanding premiums, and building lasting consumer trust.

Authors:

• Tensie Whelan, Distinguished Professor of Practice, NYU Stern; Founding Director, Center for Sustainable Business
• David Linich, Principal, PwC US; Specialist in decarbonization and sustainable operations

Related Insights:

• How the EU’s Green Deal is driving business transformation
• CEO’s checklist for sustainability and climate strategy

For marketers and business leaders, these insights provide a roadmap to win in the evolving, sustainable consumer marketplace.

Design Delight Studio curates high-impact, authoritative insights into sustainable and organic product trends, helping conscious consumers and innovative brands stay ahead in a fast-evolving green economy.