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

Marketing sustainable products effectively is a growing priority as consumers increasingly prefer environmentally friendly options. However, businesses face challenges such as proving the growth potential and price premiums of sustainable goods, balancing sustainability with other product features, and delivering trustworthy sustainability messages amid diverse and complex claims.

The Business Case for Sustainability in Consumer Products

Research by NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) and PwC highlights a clear upward trend: from 2019 to 2024, consumer products marketed for their sustainability features grew sales at nearly 12.3% annually — more than double the growth rate of conventional products. By 2024, these sustainable items accounted for 23.8% of overall sales across 36 consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories, representing about 40% of the CPG market (excluding alcohol and tobacco).

Further validating consumer willingness to invest in sustainability, PwC’s 2024 survey of 20,000 consumers found an average readiness to pay a 9.7% price premium for sustainably produced or sourced goods. Real-world data from CSB’s study shows sustainable products often command significantly higher premiums—averaging 26.6%, and exceeding 100% in categories like paper products and around 50% for coffee, cereal, and chocolate.

Targeting the Right Consumers and Categories

Certain demographic groups are more inclined toward sustainable products, including millennials, college-educated shoppers, urban residents, and high-income earners. Significantly, sustainability-marketed products capture large sales shares in key categories such as dairy across all age groups. Identifying which consumer segments demonstrate the most interest in sustainability within a company’s product categories is essential for effective marketing.

Enhancing Appeal Through Strategic Messaging

Successful marketing of sustainable products hinges on harmonizing messages that resonate with consumers. Research from CSB and Edelman underscores the power of anchoring sustainability claims to core product attributes that customers seek. For example, emphasizing that a chocolate bar tastes delicious alongside messaging about its ethical sourcing can boost the product’s appeal by around 30 percentage points compared to focusing on multiple core claims alone.

Layering one or two well-chosen sustainability claims onto a core attribute creates stronger brand positioning and broader appeal, regardless of customer demographics.

Recommended Messaging Approach

• Link sustainability attributes directly to product benefits valued by customers (e.g., skincare products formulated with sustainable ingredients that also benefit skin health).
• Prioritize messages that highlight consumer-centric benefits such as:
  • Protecting human health (no harmful ingredients)
  • Saving money
  • Supporting local farms and food systems
  • Benefiting children and future generations
  • Preserving animal health
  • Sourcing from local or sustainable origins

Conversely, claims focused on biodegradability, traceability, packaging (except all-recycled content), and certifications tend to be less compelling on their own but can support credibility alongside other messages.

Building Credibility with Clear, Evidence-Based Claims

Ambiguous or generic sustainability claims (like “clean,” “natural,” or “safe”) often face legal challenges, particularly for products used by sensitive populations such as children or applied to skin. To avoid litigation and regulatory scrutiny, companies should:

• Provide precise, substantiated claims supported by scientific evidence and data.
• Stay informed of evolving regulations, including notable initiatives like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and potential Green Claims Directive, which require rigorous evidence and transparency for environmental claims.
• Develop robust value chain analysis and traceability capabilities to back sustainability assertions convincingly.

Conclusion

For consumer product companies, the growing preference for sustainable products represents a lucrative opportunity. By clarifying the business case, targeting the right consumers, crafting appealing messages linked to core product benefits, and ensuring claims are credible and verifiable, companies can unlock the full value of product sustainability. Embracing these strategic marketing principles can drive growth while fostering consumer trust in the expanding green marketplace.

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

Source: Harvard Business Review’s S+B article, May 21, 2025, based on research by NYU Stern CSB and PwC

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