An experienced product developer told me this recently. He didn’t mean it in a derogatory sense. In fact, sustainable packaging is an important part of his work. It’s just that he subscribes to a more precise view when defining sustainability as it relates to packaging.
In his mind, it is one aspect of many things happening at once. Reducing energy consumption in processes, down-gauging materials, redesigning packages to take up less space during storage and distribution, are critical measures in responsible environmental stewardship, to name but a few. However, his vision of a sustainable package is based solely on the amount of renewable materials used to make it.