Nice summary of whether there is really anything behind the surveys on all the consumer demand for “green” products by Joel Makower http://bit.ly/eYG9Ef Essentially, he says that consumers say they want green, don't really know what "green" (or "sustainable") means and won't pay more because they either don't trust companies and/or are buying on price and performance. Except for a few diehards who are true believers and/or want everyone to view them as green (a status thing).
I also recently heard Dr. David Berube, Professor in Science & Technology Communication at North Carolina State University, describe how you can conduct surveys that "prime" respondents to answer however you want. He said that most opinion surveys give worthless data. (He spoke on consumer perception of nanotechnology. Is the question set up with a "good" or "bad" or no definition? The majority of people have no clue what "nano" means. Go 1.17 hr into an older video here using Username: sra Password: sra011910)
So what should a company do? Be as clear as possible about what you've done with your product or process and be able to prove it. Better, talk about what you are continuing to do to improve the product's environmental footprint. Most importantly, understand what motivates your customers and where they get their information.