Why Ambition Is Out and Regulation
The age of bold sustainability promises is over. Research firm Gartner predicts nearly 90% of 2025 packaging pledges will go unmet, and by 2028, three out of four companies will abandon voluntary targets altogether. What started as headline-grabbing commitments is collapsing into a new reality: compliance is driving the agenda.
Why? Because the sustainability landscape has grown brutally complex. Recycling systems are fragmented, recycled feedstock is scarce, and regulations vary wildly across regions. Inside companies, procurement, logistics, and product development struggle to stay aligned. The result? Lofty goals are being swapped for pragmatic, regulation-first strategies that prioritize survival over aspiration.
Global policy is already setting the pace. The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and a surge in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws are tightening obligations – and brands are realizing that compliance is no longer optional, it’s existential. Even policymakers are recalibrating, as California’s revisions to SB 54 show a delicate balance between ambition and economic reality.
This is the pivot point: sustainability is no longer about making promises—it’s about making products that meet the law, the market, and the bottom line.