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

Sustainable consumer products are gaining traction, yet many companies struggle to unlock their full growth and pricing potential. Research from NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) and PwC reveals effective strategies to enhance marketing and customer trust in sustainability claims.

The Business Case for Sustainable Products

• Strong Market Performance: Analysis of 12 years of U.S. sales data across 36 consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories shows that sustainability-marketed products grew at 12.3% annually from 2019 to 2024—over twice as fast as conventional products.
• Significant Market Share: By 2024, sustainable products captured 23.8% of overall sales in studied categories.
• Willingness to Pay Premiums: PwC’s 2024 consumer survey found shoppers willing to pay nearly 10% more on average for sustainable goods, while CSB research observed average price premiums of 26.6%, reaching over 100% in some paper products and around 50% for coffee, cereal, and chocolate.

Key Takeaway: Sustainable products offer real growth opportunities and justify investment through both volume gains and pricing advantages.

How to Maximize Marketing Impact

1. Understand Customer Segments

• Millennials, college-educated, urban, and high-income consumers are more likely to buy sustainable products.
• In categories like dairy, sustainability-marketed products achieve broad appeal across age groups.

Strategy: Identify and target customer groups most inclined to purchase sustainability-driven products within your categories.

2. Connect Sustainability to Core Product Attributes

• Effective marketing resembles crafting a hit song: a blend of core product appeal with select sustainability claims.
• Research by CSB and Edelman shows that combining one core product claim (e.g., taste, scent) with one or two relevant sustainability messages increases product appeal by 30 percentage points.
• Sustainability claims should relate directly to product category benefits (e.g., “formulated with sustainable ingredients good for your skin” for skincare).

Strategy: Select up to two sustainability claims that enhance the product’s primary appeal to consumers.

3. Prioritize Credible and Customer-Desired Claims

• High-impact claims emphasize benefits like:
  • Protecting human health (no harmful ingredients)
  • Saving money
  • Supporting local farms and food systems
  • Benefiting children and future generations
  • Preserving animal health
  • Originating from local or sustainable sources
• Less impactful claims include biodegradability, climate-neutrality, traceability, packaging (except all-recycled content), and generic certifications.

Strategy: Focus messaging on attributes consumers find trustworthy and relevant. Use certifications to validate but don’t rely solely on them.

Navigating Regulatory and Legal Risks

• Ambiguous terms like “clean,” “natural,” or “safe” often face legal challenges, especially for products used by children or applied to the body.
• Companies must monitor evolving policies such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the pending Green Claims Directive, which demands scientific substantiation of environmental claims.
• Building capabilities in value-chain analysis and traceability is essential for compliance and credibility.

Conclusion

Marketing sustainable products effectively requires:

• A clear business case emphasizing growth and premium pricing.
• Targeted customer insights.
• Messaging that links sustainability to the product’s core benefits.
• Credible, precise claims backed by evidence and certifications.

By following these principles, businesses can differentiate their sustainable products, foster consumer trust, and drive lasting commercial success.

Authors:
Tensie Whelan, Distinguished Professor at NYU Stern and Founding Director of the Center for Sustainable Business
David Linich, Principal at PwC US, expert in decarbonization and sustainable operations

For related insights, see articles on the EU Green Deal’s influence on business and CEO sustainability strategies.

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.