The retail platform’s green packaging strategy: the interplay between government tax policies and environmentally conscious consumers

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The surge in packaging waste presents a critical concern in supply chain management. Motivated by observed green packaging practices of online retail platforms, this paper develops an analytical model to examine the platform’s green packaging strategy. We consider the interaction between government environmental tax policies and consumer environmental awareness. Our findings reveal that green packaging, regardless of taxation, boosts consumer demand and enhances platform profitability. Although green packaging reduces per-unit waste, it may paradoxically increase the total packaging waste due to higher consumer demand. The environmental tax mitigates waste by raising consumer costs, heightening environmental awareness, and enhancing the appeal of green packaging, yet it can suppress platform profitability and may reduce the incentive for greener packaging under certain conditions. The results emphasise the advantages of proactively implementing green packaging as a social responsibility, rather than in response to environmental tax. Policymakers are advised to balance environmental tax policies with incentives, such as subsidies, to promote sustainable practices and achieve both environmental and economic benefits.