Equipment Spraying
More than three-quarters of Canadians want more environmentally-friendly food packaging

January 30, 2015 – As companies continue to innovate new ways to get food items to people around the world, more than three-quarters of Canadians say there needs to be more environmentally friendly or “green” packaging when it comes to food products, according to a recent survey conducted by Asia Pulp & Paper Canada (APP) – one of the world’s largest paper companies. In fact, 58 per cent of Canadians say they seek out food that is packaged in containers that can be recycled or reused.

While half of Canadians actively seek out environmentally-friendly food packaging based on APP’s study, nearly one third said they are also proactive about finding restaurants that embrace sustainable practices, including products packaged with recyclable or compostable content. In particular, nearly half (44 per cent) of millennials (18-34) research the environmental sustainability practices of restaurants.

The survey, conducted by business research firm Opinion Research Corporation International (ORC), was completed in late September. About 1,000 Canadians and 1,000 Americans were interviewed across the two countries.

Generally, Canadian females tends to have more sustainable attitudes. Overall, the results showed that Canadians had stronger attitudes – some of the areas had striking differences – when it comes to food packaging compared to Americans.

Key Take-aways

• 77 per cent of Canadians want more environmentally-friendly / green packaging for food products
  • Baby boomers (55+) felt the most strongly about this issue (82 per cent)
  • The Canadian results were significantly higher than American attitudes at 62 per cent
•  58 per cent of Canadians seek out food that is packaged in containers that can be recycled or reused
  • The Canadian results were significantly higher than American attitudes at 46 per cent
• 50 per cent of Canadians actively seek out food that is packaging in an environmentally-friendly way
  • More than half (53 per cent) of the millennials (18-34) said they are proactive about greener food packaging 
  • The Canadian results were significantly higher than American attitudes at 38 per cent
•  32 per cent of Canadians actively seek out restaurants that embrace sustainability practices throughout their operations
  •  Nearly half (44 per cent) of the millennials (18-34) said they research their restaurants for their practices
  • The Canadian results were very similar to American attitudes at 31 per cent