As we reflect on the packaging industry in 2025 and the look ahead to 2026 and beyond, a pattern has become increasingly clear: sustainability conversations are growing, but a divide in visions of how to address sustainability is beginning to form. The status quo in recent history has been dominated by long-term visions, ambitious road maps, and future commitments. It has created a narrative to some extent that says, “We are going to be in real trouble someday if we don’t dramatically fix a few things.”
The market, the consumer, and the planet do not operate on “someday” timelines. This is where the early divide is beginning to appear—the difference between the traditional Sustainability Philosophers and the growing trend in Sustainability Practitioners.
Sustainability Philosophers have been focused on what packaging systems and sustainable operations should look like in years or decades from now. Their strategy has been locked in almost exclusively on big-picture thinking, long-term targets, and systemic redesign.
The long-term philosophical work often produces declarations, frameworks, and goals aimed at bold print targets like 2030, 2040, or 2050. These visions are not inherently flawed. In fact, they have been necessary up to now and still carry some value in providing some general navigational direction for the future, but they are also safe from significant accountability. Long timelines can delay accountability, reduce near term risk, and allow organizations to signal progress without making difficult operational changes today. In all honesty, many large brands have looked for credit in being “bold enough” to make a commitment that is 20 years in the future, in many cases far beyond the likely retirement date of their current leadership.
Sustainability Practitioners operate from a very different perspective where they are working inside real-world constraints such as material availability, manufacturing capabilities, capital budgets, customer expectations, and thin budgets. This mindset leads to looking for real-world, real-time solutions to issues of today. Their output is not a pledge or a roadmap; it’s a physical product, process change, or measurable improvement implemented. They view sustainability as a series of sprints in the race against time and work to change the systemic incentive of long-term sustainability narratives that attract attention and investment while avoiding disruption. For practitioners, sustainability progress is measured in 0-6 month cycles, with the cumulation of multiple-cycle results driving long-term solutions.
In 2024 there was a consequential increase in packaging regulations regionally, nationally, and internationally. In 2025, as many regulations were implemented, there began a trend toward “recalibration” on long-term sustainability commitments. Regulations have begun requiring supply-chain traceability, data verification, claims audits, measurable timelines, etc., while also being fragmented across regions and industries. This has led organizations to reassess and reconcile their sustainability commitments with multiple regulatory changes.
2025 looks to have been a year of transition, leading to a mass realignment on sustainable priorities. A few major examples of regulation changes include:
- European Union Packaging and Waste Regulation that requires minimum recycled content targets, EPR costs based on environmental impact, and stronger requirements on recyclability and reuse.
- California SB 54 requires companies selling packaging into California to reduce plastic use, ensure packaging is recyclable or compostable and meets mandated recycling and recycled content targets.
- U.S. State-Level Polystyrene Foam-Specific Bans saw an increase from seven states in 2024 to 12 states in 2025.
As the regulatory trends continue, companies have been shifting their focus from goals and initiatives to ensure they are meeting compliance. These real-world business pressures on organizations are proving to be somewhat of a “shock to the system.” Sustainability roles and teams have been restructured in many cases, getting pulled into more operational functions rather than operating as parallel audit roles within the businesses.
The opportunities in the packaging industry for 2026 will be to avoid abandoning long-term sustainability goals while also learning to anchor them in short-term-cycle execution. Organizations are now working to merge sustainable solutions with quarterly performance. Needless to say, this year will be a year where we will see businesses thrive with new sustainable innovations as well as see some businesses flounder under the new markets and regulatory requirements. In 2026 and beyond, sustainability leadership will belong to the organizations that can execute repeatedly, not just promise boldly.
