The alignment of the strategic and the operational level of packaging development
in relation to the integration of sustainability is not addressed extensively in current research.
This paper aims to address this, by focusing on the decision-making interrelations of key actors
(marketing and packaging development) within multidisciplinary product-packaging development
teams. The research is conducted by means of a qualitative approach, consisting of semi-structured
interviews with individual packaging development team members, complemented with a newly
developed visualization tool. The research builds upon eight cases within brand owners, packaging
material suppliers and packaging development consultants. The main findings of the study
include the decision-making trade-offs between sustainability considerations and other project
indicators, such as costs, time-to-market and technical challenges. These trade-offs are linked to
the strategic and operational roles of key actors, and to internal and external factors influencing
sustainable development processes. This research’s contribution is to address the alignment of the
strategic and the operational levels of sustainable packaging development, in relation to (1) decision
making and interrelations within multidisciplinary development teams; and (2) the relevance of
development-influencing factors. This provides opportunities for further development of sustainable
packaging models and tools, in order to align the strategic and operational level of development.