Amazon Signals Move Toward Sustainable Packaging: How Sustainability Can Drive Profit

With sustainability and environmental concerns being more than mere buzzwords in the contemporary retail space, as PYMNTS reported, it seems that more and more retailers are moving to address these issues in various ways.

Look no further than Amazon: According to Retail Dive, the retailer is making a serious push toward sustainability. While it didn't meet its target of making 100% of packaging for its Echo, Kindle, and Fire TV products entirely recyclable, it did reach a rather impressive figure of 90%, up from 79% in 2022.

Presenting a focus on reducing plastic bags and wrapping both inside and outside of the product box, Amazon also indicated that it was incorporating far more recycled material in packaging for these products, using unbleached boxes to produce a kraft look. Plastic air pillows were also scrapped by Amazon in October, with recycled paper filler being used to protect shipped goods instead. Further, the retailer stated it had reduced its average per-shipment packaging weight by nearly half (43%) since 2015.

Retail Dive indicated that one of Amazon's competitors in the smart device space, Google, has also moved to take plastic out of its packaging. As of August 2024, Google succeeded in making all packaging for its new devices — including the Fitbit, Nest, and Pixel lineups — without the use of plastic.

Sustainability, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Policy Can Enhance Profits

Whether sustainability can enhance profits remains something of a question in 2025, but the preponderance of evidence seems to suggest that green efforts are rewarded.

According to Diversitech Global research, consumers are increasingly savvy as to environmental issues, particularly concerning the products they aim to purchase. Some of the more notable findings produced by its report include:

• Almost 1 in 3 shoppers surveyed indicated that they had boycotted certain brands or products out of concerns related to ethics or sustainability.
• A full 70% of millennials and Gen Zers polled indicated they would pay more for sustainable products.
• Almost two-thirds (64%) of those surveyed indicated that brands needed to reduce the amount of packaging on their products and to ensure that packaging was more sustainable in nature.

And as Maersk outlined, retailers may be gently prodded in greener directions by government regulations in tandem with the proliferation of AI tools — tools that could spur massive improvements in supply chain optimization.

"Regulatory imperatives, coupled with technological advancements in data analytics and AI, further incentivize retailers to embrace sustainable practices, offering avenues for operational optimization and efficiency enhancement," Lara Albertina Rebello wrote for Maersk.

On a broader level, a 2022 Deloitte Global research report indicated that today's investments in sustainability could drive greater economic rewards in the future. Inaction on climate change could cost $178 trillion by 2070, per Deloitte Global, while successfully investing in greener production and transportation models could see a "turning point" emerge where profitability was enhanced.

"It’s important that the global economy evolves to meet the challenges of climate change,” said Dr. Pradeep Philip, lead partner for Deloitte Access Economics. “Our analysis shows that a low-carbon future is not only a societal imperative but an economic one. We already have the technologies, business models, and policy approaches to simultaneously combat the climate crisis and unlock significant economic growth, but we need governments, businesses, and communities globally to align on a pathway toward a net-zero future.”

Is Sustainability an Overused Buzzword?

PYMNTS spoke to the proliferation of labels or buzzwords surrounding sustainability and environmentally conscious notions — "eco-friendly" and "green" chief among these. The superficiality of these labels may be fading, though, as legislators, retailers, and consumers alike become more aligned with the greater goals of sustainability in terms of consumer goods.

Some retailers are walking the walk, however. Per Carbon Trail, H&M is one example of a retailer taking sustainability seriously. Its "Conscious Collection" drew praise from Carbon Trail for incorporating recycled materials in addition to organic cotton. Additionally, the outlet mentioned H&M's garment recycling program, a strategy that is also carried out by brands like Patagonia, Levi Strauss, and Urban Outfitters, according to Recycle Coach.

Greenwashing may also be meeting its demise, as Forbes reported last April. Citing a 2022 Bain & Company study, Forbes noted that 65% of fashion consumers were concerned about the environment.

"Of course, ESG initiatives are important to today's boards and investors. These stakeholders carefully track ESG performance because of the potential long-term impact on retailers' business value, company perception, brand reputation and more. ESG efforts can also lower costs by improving efficiencies to ensure a stronger bottom line. For example, implementing sustainable practices like energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems can reduce utility costs. Ultimately, retailers that fail to invest in ESG risk losing investors themselves and impeding business growth in the long term," Forbes Council member Jeffrey Casale wrote.