What’s more, consumers said that a company’s environmental consciousness is an important priority, ranking just behind ‘good value,’ ‘trustworthiness’ and ‘caring about customers.’

For Eric Ryan, Co-founder of Method Products, that thinking is obvious. Method, the environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning products company, isn’t simply about creating greener products, but about being a greener business from top to bottom.

In an exclusive interview with MeetTheBoss.tv, Co-founder of Method, Eric Ryan, explains just how the eco-leader is competing against household giants such as Johnson & Johnson and Clorox: “If you’re not the biggest, you better be the fastest,” he muses. “It’s not about serving all customers, it’s serving the most important customers as a brand. So, one of our obsessions is called Living Our Methodology.”

The company has been credited with “single-handedly turning the consumer packaged-goods industry on its head”, and that methodology of a greener and cleaner business model has also earned Method two SHE cleaning awards – the so-called “Oscars of the cleaning world”.

Scott Siff, Executive Vice President of Penn Schoen Berland, one of the WPP agencies participating in the Green Brands survey, said at the time that in the US 75 percent of consumers say that it is somewhat or very important to them that the brands they buy come from green companies.

“While the economy certainly drove down the priority of green for consumers, we can expect that as the recovery continues, the importance of green will come roaring back,” he added.

Of course, saying we’ll be greener and environmentally responsible is one thing; it is another to be like Method, going out and actually doing it… Head to MeetTheBoss.tv to see Eric Ryan discuss innovation corporate thinking in full.