According to the 2020 study by Perspectus Global for the Pro Carton association European consumers would be willing to pay more for environmentally friendly packaging. And this has not escaped the attention of companies. The IFOP survey conducted for the paper and other communication media distributor Antalis shows that the environment is an important aspect for companies that consume packaging and the covid crisis has had little impact on this concern.
More broadly, CSR policy - which encompasses environmental as well as social and ethical issues - is well established in French companies, according to the results of the survey entitled "Customers' environmental expectations". 85% of companies with more than 100 employees have a CSR policy. And 65% of companies of all sizes say they have a CSR policy in place or plan to implement one.
The covid-19 has had a limited impact on this willingness: 71% of the companies surveyed have not changed their CSR policy and 19% of the companies surveyed have only slowed down their efforts.
Packaging: environment and cost, the challenge for companies
When it comes to packaging, while 57% of companies are willing to pay more for products with environmentally friendly packaging, cost remains the top priority. Green packaging solutions must therefore be economically viable for companies.
When purchasing packaging, 84% regularly use at least one environmental criterion, the most frequent being those related to waste reduction and the life cycle of the material (recycled, recyclable, renewable).
Companies are also very attentive to the geographical origin of products.
65% of Antalis' French clients consider this to be an important criterion today and 85% believe it will be a major criterion in the future.
However, only 32% of the companies surveyed consider themselves to be ahead in the fight against environmental problems. There is still a lot of room for improvement and they should be aware of all the possibilities for their impact on nature.
"This study shows that French companies are already involved in environmental issues and will continue to be, and that's a good thing." says Virginie Mallet, EMEA Packaging Marketing Director at Antalis. In order to respond to these new concerns, Antalis offers its clients the Antrak platform, which brings together all information on the social responsibility of its suppliers.
