Sustainability lives on the strategic agenda. However, it lags commercial traction. Our Chemicals, Energy, and Materials Study 2025 discusses the green paradox and how industrials companies can convert decarbonization into demand, prices, and profit.
Across energy-intensive industries, sustainability is embedded in strategy. Most companies have launched sustainability-enhanced offerings in the last three years, and executives remain optimistic about emerging green markets.
However, the commercial payoff is uneven. Our study finds that glass, cement, and steel show the strongest traction with over one-third of these companies reporting commercial results. Meanwhile, base chemicals and energy generators more often remain stuck in pilots or compliance-driven initiatives.
The result is a familiar gridlock: high intent, limited growth.
Why does the gap persist?
Our Chemicals, Energy, and Materials Study 2025 points to a cocktail of barriers rather than a single culprit. Limited customer willingness to pay, unclear ROI, and regulatory uncertainty top the list, with the mix varying by sector.
Base chemicals and steel most often struggle with weak willingness to pay. Cement and glass feel policy risk acutely. Energy generators cite broader policy uncertainty. In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all commercialization path.
Playbooks must be tailored to where value is created and proven in each market.
Market maturity compounds the challenge
The surveyed executives describe target markets as emerging. Optimism is high, but depth is still low. This creates a window for pioneers to set standards and capture first-mover advantage, if they can scale effectively.
This goes on to show why commercialization cannot be an afterthought to engineering. It must be designed in from the start, with buyers, data, and monetization at the core.
Interestingly, the sectors with less commercialization success push 2.6 times harder on demand-shaping than those with traction. Base chemicals and energy generators report much higher levels of activity, including campaigns, partnerships, and pilots. Yet, without tight linkage to customer value and monetization, activity alone doesn’t unlock growth.
This is the heart of the green paradox: more effort, limited revenue. The answer lies in strategic demand-shaping.
What do successful green growers do differently?
First, they co-develop with customers to ensure the sustainability benefit solves a real operational or market problem.
Second, they productize proof. Integrating robust, decision-grade environmental impact data (methodology, baselines, outcomes) into the offer enables buyers to commit with confidence.
Third, they pick the right levers by region. U.S. leaders lean market-driven (customer collaboration and standardization), while European leaders emphasize ecosystem and policy engagement to create offtake conditions at scale.
These choices convert intention into traction.
Your next best decisive move: Shape demand
Businesses must increase customer pull through co-development with anchor accounts, ecosystem partnerships, and targeted engagement that solves real operational pain.
Productizing proof by embedding decision-grade, auditable impact data and standardizing baselines is essential to unlock commitment and protect premiums. Tailor commercialization by region (market-led in the U.S.; ecosystem/policy-led in Europe), and develop a GTM strategy that sequences offers, pricing, and offtake structures.
By aligning pilots with offtake and low-carbon energy access, businesses can scale profitably.
How Simon-Kucher can help
Sustainability will remain central to strategy for industrials businesses. Market leaders will turn it into profitable growth by aligning offers to customer value, embedding proof, and deliberately shaping demand conditions. That’s how the green paradox becomes the green payoff.
Simon-Kucher partners with industrials businesses to turn sustainability into profitable growth through customer-backed offerings, stronger value stories, and monetization that scales. Download our Chemicals, Energy, and Materials Study 2025 for the full findings that will help you figure the remedy to the green paradox.
Form placeholder. This will only show within the editor
