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

The Green Opportunity and Its Challenges

Consumer preference for sustainable products continues to rise, yet effectively capturing this green demand remains complex for businesses. Key hurdles include:

• Demonstrating that sustainable products yield growth and justify investment.
• Balancing sustainability attributes with other desired product features.
• Delivering trustworthy marketing messages amidst a flood of claims, labels, and certifications.

Proven Growth and Price Premiums

Research from NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business (CSB), leveraging 12 years of U.S. point-of-sale data from Circana, reveals:

• Sustainability-marketed products grew sales by 12.3% annually from 2019 to 2024, outpacing conventional items by 2.3 times.
• In 2024, sustainable products accounted for nearly 24% of total consumer packaged goods (CPG) sales in analyzed categories.
• PwC’s 2024 consumer survey shows customers willing to pay an average 9.7% price premium for sustainably sourced or produced goods.
• Actual market data indicates average price premiums of 26.6%, with some categories such as paper products exceeding 100%, and coffee, cereal, and chocolate around 50%.

Strategies to Maximize Sustainable Product Value

1. Recognize Consumer Segments & Product Categories

Certain demographics—millennials, college-educated shoppers, urban residents, and high-income earners—drive higher purchases of sustainable products. Additionally, categories like dairy show broad age-group adoption of sustainability-marketed items at significant premiums. Identifying these segments is crucial for targeted marketing.

2. Amplify Appeal by Linking Sustainability to Core Product Qualities

Effective marketing blends sustainable attributes with a product’s primary benefits. Research by CSB and Edelman communications highlights:

• Starting with a core product claim (e.g., “rich, delicious chocolate” or “cleans and smells fresh”).
• Layering one or two sustainability claims related to the product category enhances appeal by approximately 30 percentage points.

For example, skincare products perform best when sustainability claims directly address customer concerns such as being “formulated with sustainable ingredients good for your skin.”

3. Prioritize Credible, Consumer-Relevant Claims

Claims that resonate most with consumers emphasize tangible benefits:

• Protecting human health (free from harmful ingredients)
• Saving money
• Supporting local farms and communities
• Caring for future generations and animal welfare
• Using local or sustainably sourced ingredients

Less effective claims include scientific properties (e.g., biodegradability), traceability, generic packaging claims (except all-recycled content), and sustainability certifications alone, which require additional messaging to strengthen appeal.

4. Be Precise and Provide Evidence

Ambiguous claims like “natural,” “clean,” or “safe” risk legal challenges, especially for products used by children or applied to the body. Companies must:

• Monitor evolving regulations such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Due Diligence Directive, and upcoming EU Green Claims Directive, which demands scientific substantiation for environmental claims.
• Build robust value chain analysis and traceability capabilities to verify sustainability assertions.

Conclusion

Marketing sustainable products effectively demands a strategic approach that clarifies the business case, connects sustainability with core product attributes, and advances credible, consumer-valued claims backed by evidence. By adopting these principles, consumer product companies can confidently tap into the growing sustainable market while building lasting consumer trust.

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

This summary is based on research and insights published May 21, 2025, from NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business and PwC.

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