The Promise and Difficulties of Sustainability in Consumer Health

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key findings

Leading companies favour a mixed approach to sustainability, with details to be determined later this decade

After years of silence, consumer health companies have announced strong commitments to sustainability and environmental protection in recent years, mirroring consumers’ accelerating concerns and increasing demands for products that meet their eco-consciousness.

Downstream emissions are easier to tackle in the short term while companies determine the best long-term approach

Adjacent industries like beauty and personal care, packaged food or home care are many years ahead of consumer health in their environmental commitments, and consumer health companies should learn from their successes and mistakes to scale up their approaches quickly and efficiently.

Consumer health is starting behind other industries and could look to them for strategies in trying to catch up

One clear takeaway from other industries is to tackle downstream emissions (packaging, waste) before solving thornier upstream emissions dilemmas (supply chains, ingredients sourcing, manufacturing), although companies will still need to make progress in this area to meet stated Sustainable Development Goals.

Consumer health’s push for sustainability is occurring at the same time as exploding consumer concerns about climate change

Thus far, consumer health leaders have committed to reductions in both upstream and downstream emissions, although these are still at the general planning stage. The industry as a whole is still waiting to implement commercialised solutions on either of these fronts.

Smaller consumer health companies are nimble enough to experiment with solutions that will point the way forward for the industry

As market leaders take time to plan revisions to major corporate standards, the industry should look to smaller players for inspiration, as they are nimble enough to go to market with sustainable approaches to packaging, sourcing, shipping, supply chains, waste and recycling.