Forrester Research also shows that 12 percent of US adults -- some 25 million Americans -- are willing to pay extra for consumer electronics that use less energy or come from a company that is environmentally friendly. These "bright greens" are the vanguard of an emerging consumer market segment that will be an attractive target for technology companies, the research group says. The Forrester report is based on a survey of 5,000 US adults.

The survey identified three distinct segments of US technology consumers:

° "Bright greens? are 12 percent of US adults. These consumers are concerned about the environment and strongly agree that they would pay more for consumer electronics products that save energy or come from a company that is environmentally responsible.

° "Green" consumers are another 41 percent of US adults. These 90 million consumers share concerns about environmental issues, but do not strongly agree that they would pay more for environmentally friendly products.

° "Non-greens" are the remaining 47 percent of US adults. The rest of the population, 96 million Americans, do not (yet) share the greens’ concerns about the environment or global warming.

Many of the major consumer electronic manufacturers, including Apple, Dell, HP, Sony, and Toshiba, have taken early steps to green their operations and products, according to Forrester Research. But moving forward, marketers and designers of consumer technology products and services will change product marketing and product design to embrace green principles like energy efficiency, lower-impact manufacturing, longer product life cycles, and recycleability, the research group adds.