The Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) just wrapped the Pet Sustainability Track at The Pet Summit, colocated with Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida. Read below for the main takeaways from our seven core sessions!
1. Sustainability is still important to pet parents in 2026
Greener Tails Ahead: Why Pet Can’t Be the Last to Catch Up
Andrea Binder from NielsenIQ set the tone for the day stating “sustainability isn’t a trend it’s a transformation.” According to NielsenIQ data shared during the presentation, sustainability is alive and well with over $2 billion in sales in the U.S. from Sustainability Certified products in 2025.
According to the data presented, sustainability in total over-indexes with pet owning households, so where can brands in the pet industry take action? Four key areas of opportunity for the pet industry were highlighted:
- Sustainable Packaging
- Waste Elimination
- Rethinking Seafood through the use of alternative proteins, upcycled ingredients, and invasive species removal
- Use of Regenerative Agriculture
The pet industry has a wide open runway for growth, and sustainability is unlocking new paths for growth and innovation.
2. Pay attention to packaging regulation in 2026
From Compliance to Competitive Advantage: Rethinking Pet Food Packaging in an EPR Era
Lowell Huffman from rePurpose Global, Amber Roman from Ahlstrom, & Christine Yeager from CSY Impact Consulting sat on a panel discussing how Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is reshaping packaging decisions from a purely regulatory burden to opportunities for strategic advantage.
EPR regulation favors recyclability and incentivizes this through the use of fees or fines for less or non-recyclable packaging materials. In order to make strategic packaging decisions, they must be data-driven and holistic. A key insight shared from the panel was focusing on packaging changes where impact is the highest, with evaluating high-volume and high-fee materials first.
For producers, expect more than just fees from EPR regulation: eco-modulation and plastic reduction requirements are also included for these key U.S. states which include Oregon, Colorado, California, and soon to be several others. Overall, EPR is shifting packaging from a compliance exercise into strategic decisions for cost, design, and impact.
3. Organic certification has many benefits beyond consumer recognition
Organic Pet Food: Evidence, Safety, and Traceable Sourcing From Farm to Bowl
In this session Beatriz Daim & Sam Didier from Tradin Organic helped us explore the difference between ‘Natural’ and ‘Organic.’ Natural is a loosely defined term with no standards and natural labeled products could still include pesticides, synthetic additives, and genetically modified organisms (GMO’s). On the other hand Organic, more specifically USDA Organic, is clearly defined and audited to make sure it’s Non-GMO, used no growth hormones, no synthetic pesticides, and abided by the required animal welfare & environmental standards.
Presenters from Tradin Organic outlined how Organic certification also functions as a risk management system. Organic ingredients show full traceability from farm to bowl with a clear audit trail, defined input restrictions (e.g. types of fertilizers), and structured residue testing.
Organic isn’t just a label, it’s a system that builds consumer trust through verification, traceability, and higher quality ingredients.
4. AI use has both opportunities and risks in the pet industry
AI for a Sustainable Pet Industry: When It Helps, and When It Doesn’t
Danielle Azoulay from The CSO Shop left us with many takeaways when looking at AI as a potentially powerful tool in the pet industry. While there are many capabilities, AI is also a tool with environmental impacts. AI requires infrastructure including energy and water, and generates significant noise pollution in local communities.
Particularly thought provoking was the concept presented called Jevons Paradox which occurs when increased technological efficiency reduces the cost of using a resource, paradoxically leading to higher overall consumption rather than conservation, which could also apply to AI usage in coming years.
Opportunities include: the ability to complete high volume tasks quicker, free up resources (especially important on smaller sustainability teams), and use in pattern detection.
Risks include: potential greenwashing, the “garbage in, garbage, out” with AI where output is only as good as the data used to teach it, and a loss of human oversight.
The bottom line, make sure innovation is actually taking you somewhere worth going. Sustainability claims carry legal and reputational weight and humans need to remain part of the process. As Danielle so succinctly put it, “decisions need to be human and AI needs to be the support.”
5. Welfare-positive farming can move mainstream with the help of ASPCA
Kindness in Every Kibble: Advancing Animal Welfare In Pet Food
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) highlighted their Farm Program, which helps bring more welfare-positive, pasture-based farming into the mainstream. Maral Cavner & Dr. Ashley Eisenback with ASPCA presented a strategy to connect consumers with higher-welfare food companies through the use of clear standards and partnerships.
According to the presentation, 90% of pet food shoppers would be likely to switch to another brand of pet food if they knew the brand sourced from farms that treated animals better. Programs like ASPCA’s Shop With Your Heart include brands that meet higher welfare standards, and simplifies decision-making for consumers. Improving animal welfare transparency with consumers bridges the gap between values and purchasing behavior. PSC members Open Farm and Bond Pet Foods were mentioned for their higher welfare food options, and innovations in precision fermentation.
Ultimately, advancing animal welfare isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a powerful opportunity to build trust and educate pet owners. As consumer expectations around animal welfare continue to rise, transparency and credible standards will define the leaders in this space.
6. Ingredient selection is our greatest sustainability lever
Tackling Pet Food’s Climate Pawprint: The Role of Sustainable Proteins
In this session, Billy Nicholles from Bryant Research answered the important questions: what is sustainable ingredient selection and what can we do to drive more sustainable ingredient choices in the industry?
Reviewing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an average dog confirms the majority of their impact comes from their food. When searching for more sustainable ingredients for pet food, by-products, regenerative, plant-based, cultivated, and precision fermentation ingredients are all part of the solution. Sustainable ingredients must also produce good health outcomes, be palatable, and safely produced & consumed in order to be successfully applied to pet food. With the rising trend of pet food premiumization and the use of human-consumable meat in pet food, protein diversification is essential. Animal-based ingredient chains are vulnerable to extreme weather events, disease, and geopolitical instability.
The business case stands on its own, ingredient selection is our greatest sustainability lever and the future of pet food sustainability and resiliency will be shaped less by the packaging, and more by what’s inside the bowl.
7. Sustainability is an entire system of choices
Purpose in Practice: Real Stories from Pet Brands Driving Sustainable Impact
The Pet Sustainability Track 2026 ended with Real Stories from Pet Brands Driving Sustainable Impact featuring three panelists sharing their stories about turning purpose into product decisions. Whether it was transitioning to recyclable packaging, using certified Organic ingredients, or turning waste into nutrition the panelists shared how sustainability shows up in product decisions. There were several standout reflections from the last session of the day with David Hartigan from Hemp Heros, a Certified B Corporation sharing that “B Corp helps us see areas where we can improve,” Geoffrey Bowers of Totoniks Ltd. mentioning “science only understands what nature already knows” and Carla Ng-Garrett from earthbath stating “is the market able to bear the cost of your belief?”
Across every session, one truth kept surfacing, sustainability in the pet industry isn’t a single initiative, but an entire system of choices. From ingredient choices, to packaging transitions, the industry is being pushed to innovate.
Ready to turn these insights into action?
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