A number of recent research surveys indicate that not only are consumers willing to pay premium prices for more environmentally friendly products, but companies are realizing that being "green" makes business sense.

In just the first few months of 2009 alone, several studies found that conscious consumers were willing to pay more for environmentally responsible products — even in a period that included a recession and a presidential transition. (Source: GreenBiz.com)

For businesses, being eco-conscious has to make financial sense rather than simply being "the right thing to do." Either they save money by going green or they are able to command a price premium because their product or service is green, otherwise being green is not worth the investment.

Increasingly more companies are realizing the business value of sustainable practices, most often revealed in the form of new efficiency methods and cost containment.

According to Greenbiz.com's latest annual State of Green Business report, the recession gave a boost to practices like energy efficiency and fleet purchases of alternative-powered vehicles in the quest to cut expenses. A new generation of packaging materials and methods also brought sizable changes.

Among the other key trends noted in this year's State of Green Business report is the notion of "radical transparency: the virtuous circle that develops when detailed information about companies, products and ingredients is instantly available, enabling consumers to make smarter choices, thereby moving markets toward less-harmful products."

Small Business Trends also recently cited transparency as the No. 1 green business trend for 2010:

Consumers want to know where products are sourced, what they're made of and why they're better than the status quo. Businesses are responding by giving them more information than ever before. Some restaurants, for instance, include the name and location of the local farm it buys chickens from and the conditions they were raised under. A "green" dry cleaner might describe its cleaning process on its Web site, so customers understand why the process is less environmentally harmful than traditional dry cleaning.

"The green economy is alive and well, even during tough times," Joel Makower, author of Strategies for the Green Economy and executive editor of GreenBiz.com, recently said. "There are encouraging signs that innovation and clean technologies, as well as more efficient business operations, can help the U.S. emerge more competitive as the economy recovers."

In fact, according to the 2010 State of Green Business report, sustainable business practices and clean technologies are finding common purpose. "Clean technology in its many forms is entering the marketplace [...] more often embedded in materials, manufacturing systems, public infrastructure, information technology and industrial processes," according to GreenBiz.com. "Most of this is hidden from public view or knowledge, placing the much-anticipated green economy behind a curtain of business-to-business activity."

Makower cites the emergence of the "smart grid" as representative of the convergence of green business and clean technologies, as well as "the confluence of the electricity grid with information technology, vehicles, consumer products and the built environment."

In fact, one of the biggest sustainable success stories in 2009 was the leap in green building, from materials to design. Despite the dismal housing industry, the interest in energy-efficient and environmentally sensitive homes did not diminish. In fact, over the past year, green building has been a rare bright spot for the building industry and has an even brighter future as the overall economy improves, according to recent reports from the nonprofit Earth Advantage Institute and the U.S. Green Building Council with Booz Allen Hamilton. (See 5 Green Building Trends to Watch)

In some ways, sustainability is becoming a standard in business and throughout the supply chain.

"What began as a seemingly altruistic endeavor, then shifted to a way to cut costs and improve reputation, has become a fundamental business competency, alongside accounting, finance, human resources, marketing, customer service, procurement, knowledge management and others, according to GreenBiz.com, which continues:

Indeed, in some firms, green thinking is becoming embedded in each of these other disciplines, increasingly woven into the corporate fabric. That has made green strategy and practices ever more valued, seen by top brass as a way to cut costs, improve operations, foster innovation, engage employees and satisfy customers — all critical during tough economic times.

While start-ups continue to play a crucial role in getting the green industry off the ground, large organizations are making a shift toward energy-efficiency and other green methods.

The following 10 companies, listed on Forbes' new "America's Greenest Companies" list, led the nation in purchases of green power over the last year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency: Intel, Kohl's, Whole Foods, Dell, Johnson & Johnson, Cisco, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, BNY Mellon and Kimberly Clark.

Chipmaker Intel bought 1.43 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable power over the past year. The company doesn't say how much it paid for the power, but at average industrial power prices it would add up to $100 million, Forbes says. While Intel gets 51 percent of its power from renewable sources, department-store chain Kohl's uses 1.37 billion kilowatt-hours, or 100 percent renewable power.

"Companies that take the recession as an opportunity to align their green goals with business objectives and make targeted investments in green initiatives will stand the best chance of creating sustainable enterprise-wide value," according to Staying Green While the Global Economy Sees Red, a 2009 report from Diamond Management & Technology Consultants. "Properly managed, green initiatives can help companies lower their overall expenses, keep their structures flexible, and edge out competitors as new regulations come into play."

Earlier

Sustainable Goods Surviving Recession

Sustainability Initiatives Spur Green Packaging Growth

"Smart" Infrastructure on the Rise

Clean Tech in a New Energy Economy

5 Green Building Trends to Watch

Resources

Americans See Watershed Era for Environmental Investing
Allianz Global Investors, Jan. 28, 2009

Consumer Interest in Environmental Purchasing Not Eclipsed by Poor Economy
Cone Inc., Feb. 18, 2009

82 Percent of Consumers Buying Green Despite Battered Economy
Green Seal / EnviroMedia Social Marketing, February 2009

Cost Not a Deterrent to Being Green and Environmentally Friendly
ORC Guideline, June 3, 2009

Consumers Identify Safe, Modern and Sustainable U.S. Manufacturing as Priorities
Rockwell Automation, Inc., Feb. 9, 2009

Green Consumers' Irrational Exuberance
By Joel Makower
GreenBiz.com, Feb. 22, 2009

Are Americans Willing to Pay More Green to Get More Green?
Mintel International, March 25, 2010

State of Green Business 2010
by Joel Makower and editors
GreenBiz.com (Greener World Media, Inc.), February 2010

The Rise of Building Efficiency and Retrofits: State of Green Business Forum - Chicago
by Leslie Guevarra
GreenBiz.com, Feb. 10, 2010

Greener Fleets Hit the Streets: The State of Green Business 2010
by Joel Makower
GreenBiz.com, Feb. 8, 2010

Packaging Companies Rethink the Box: The State of Green Business 2010
by Joel Makower
GreenBiz.com, Feb. 15, 2010

Five Green Business Trends For 2010
by Kelly Spors
Small Business Trends, Feb. 14, 2010

Has the Economy Helped or Hurt the Growth of Green Business?
by editorial staff
GreenBiz.com, Feb. 3, 2010

Green Business and Cleantech Find Common Purpose
by Joel Makower
GreenBiz.com, Feb. 16, 2010

Top Ten Green Building Trends To Watch in 2010
by Sean Penrith
Earth Advantage Institute, Jan. 5, 2010

U.S. Green Building Council Green Jobs Study
U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton, Nov. 11, 2009

The State of Green Business 2010: Alive and Kicking
by Joel Makower
GreenBiz.com, Feb. 3, 2010

The Top Fifty Green Start-ups
by Michael Kanellos
The Green Eye (CBS News), March 22, 2010

10 Green Giants That Could Change the World
by Michael Kanellos
The Green Eye (CBS News), April 22, 2010

America's Greenest Companies
by Jonathan Fahey
Forbes.com, April 26, 2010

Staying Green While the Global Economy Sees Red
by Darin Yug and Richard Findlay
Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, April 21, 2009

Clean Energy Trends 2010
Clean Edge, March 2010

Go Green and Stay in the Black
by Christopher Steiner
Forbes Small Business Tech Toolkit, March 8, 2010

5 Mistakes Businesses Make Trying to Go Green
by Jill Fehrenbacher
American Express OPEN Forum, March 10, 2010