Packaged Sustainable (PS) is a platform connecting CPG brands with sustainable packaging suppliers, designed to remove guesswork, bias, and inefficiency from the packaging sourcing process. As part of its partnership with the CAPSource ESG & Sustainability Consulting Fellowship, PS is inviting the class to conduct original research into how Gen Z actually thinks about sustainable packaging, greenwashing, and ESG, an audience whose attitudes increasingly shape how brands make packaging decisions. 

The project combines primary research (interviews and surveys with brand owners, peer-group consumers, suppliers, sustainability practitioners, and regulatory contacts) with a review of the current state of ESG and EPR regulation. The class will then synthesize both into a single point of view on where sustainable packaging is heading and what brands need to understand about the next generation of buyers and employees. 

The final output is a 2,000-3,000 word guest article published on the Packaged Sustainable blog under the class's byline, with an introduction from PS framing it as the next generation of sustainability buyers weighing in, plus an optional summary deck PS can use in supplier and brand conversations. 

For students, this means a published, bylined piece of original research reaching a real industry audience, something concrete to point to in a portfolio or resume. For PS, it means an authentic, peer-generated perspective that no internal research could replicate.

Getting Oriented

The class would start by getting familiar with PS itself (the platform, the blog, the kind of content PS publishes) so the final article matches PS's voice and fits naturally alongside existing posts. Reviewing a few PS blog posts as style references would help here. They'd also want a quick primer on the basics of ESG, EPR, and sustainable packaging certifications (BPI, FSC, How2Recycle, etc.) so they're speaking the same language as the people they'll be interviewing.

Building the Research Plan

This means identifying realistic targets for each audience group. Brand owners and suppliers might come from PS's network (PS could make a few introductions), while peer-group consumers are likely easiest to reach through the students' own networks. Drafting separate question sets for each audience matters here too, since the questions for a Gen Z consumer ("would packaging change your purchase decision?") are very different from questions for a sustainability practitioner ("where is EPR legislation heading?").

Conducting the Research

This is the bulk of the work: scheduling and running interviews, distributing surveys, and starting to take notes on patterns as they emerge rather than waiting until everything is collected. Recording interviews (with permission) makes it easier to pull accurate quotes later for the article.

Researching the Industry Landscape

In parallel, someone (or a sub-team) should be tracking down current sources on ESG and EPR, prioritizing primary sources like state legislation trackers, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, and industry publications over secondary aggregators. This runs alongside the primary research so the class isn't doing it all at the end.

Synthesizing and Finding the Angle

Once research is in hand, the real work is figuring out what story it tells. This means looking for tension or surprise: where did young people's attitudes align with where the industry is headed, and where did they diverge? That tension is usually what makes an article worth reading rather than a generic summary.

Drafting and Refining

Writing a first draft, then revising for length, tone, and clarity. Worth flagging: PS has specific writing guidelines (no hype language, no unqualified "biodegradable," prose over bullets, etc.) that could be shared with the class before drafting starts, so they're not rewriting later to match PS's editorial standards.

Building the Deck and Final Handoff 

Once the article is locked, pulling 5-8 key findings into the optional summary deck. Final handoff to PS would include the article draft, any supporting data or quotes, and the deck, with enough lead time for PS to write its framing introduction before publishing.