Sustainability seems to provoke a strong reaction in the industry. For those who are positive about it, you can see that they get excited when they talk about the benefits of 'eco'. They get excited telling you about their success stories and how they have grown their business by adopting a sustainable path forward.

For those who are excited, but cynical, they like telling you about how it does not offer value, how it is expensive and how no-one is asking for it. Well, no-one was asking for a car when the automobile was invented either. When asked about the innovation of the motor car and how he thinks of new ideas, Henry Ford replied tersely that if he asked his customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse. This was a mantra adopted by the late Steve Jobs, who also knew a thing or two about innovation.

But people and buyers are asking for sustainability. The top brands are pledging their production and supply chains to carbon neutral status between 2015 and 2020, so there must be an opportunity there? There is, and plenty of businesses are making successful things happen. Leaders move first, then stuff becomes mainstream, that's a fact. InfoTrends research shows that when presented with two products, one sustainable, one not, at the same price, people will choose the 'eco' option. How much proof do we need that it is a big issue?

The reality is that I think sustainability is still in the early adopter stage and more innovation from manufacturers is needed in order to bring the price issue into line. Print companies need the prices of their products to be close to, or on a par with, the existing options in the market. But the print companies who are succeeding with sustainability are doing so, and charging a little bit more, and still getting the business.

The leaders amongst us are shifting their businesses into alignment to demand for green; sure, it might not yet be ubiquitous, but soon enough it will be. The trend for sustainable solutions is linked to the fact that our growing population, soon to reach 7bn people, who are consuming more and more, is adversely affecting the climactic behaviour of the planet. Most law-makers and business leaders know they need to change our mindset in order to reduce these changes.

Customers, generally, don't ask for something until it becomes mainstream. But we believe that the 'chasm' between the early adopters and the early majority is about to be breached. The top 100 sustainable brands number probably the biggest print buyers on the planet, so their demands will be felt throughout supply chains around the world. Soon enough, like other changes that suddenly become mainstream, green will become 'the norm'.

A key problem for those who sell green innovation in print seems to be the 'print manager' – the person who is charged with procuring print on volume, as measured by how much they buy and the rate they buy it. They don't care about the planet; they care about price. Many clever innovators from the world of manufacturing have told me you need to get around the problem of the price-focused print manager by going straight to the brands and retailers. Once you get the person in a strategic role, who knows that their print must be better produced, stuff happens, and things change, for the better. And the enlightened customer might even pay a little more, because their waste costs are reduced because they don't have to pay as much landfill costs.

A holistic approach to sustainability means you save money. It reduces your energy consumption, your waste, increases your efficiency, your profit and the value of your relationship with your customer. Every excited and passionate professional who has adopted a sustainable path tells me that people think it costs you money; actually it does the reverse when approached throughout the business and is applied throughout the supply chain.

To those who don't believe that sustainability is a big issue, important or likely to give value, go on thinking that. You are probably not reading this blog anyway because the title of it wouldn't appeal to you. The top 16 to 20 percent of our market are getting sustainability. For the laggards, you will have to play a catching up game when the tipping point for sustainability is reached.