Wouldn’t it be great if doing the right thing automatically brought big rewards? For example, if your company is willing to spend the extra time and money needed to develop a “green” adhesive or sealant that’s better for the environment, people should be more than happy to pay for it, right? That product should fly off the shelves at a premium price, prompting the development of additional, even more sustainable green products that are made from all bio-based raw materials, include no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to speak of, reduce CO₂ emissions by 1,000%, and be fully recyclable/reusable! Sadly, this is not a perfect world. Far from it, in fact.

It turns out that developing successful green products is much trickier than most people might think. Consumers far and wide broadcast their desire for sustainable products, but they almost always balk at the price. “Only about 5% of buyers in the consumer market would be willing to pay more for an eco-friendly solution just because it is eco-friendly,” writes James Swope of The ChemQuest Group.