It is hard to imagine Pd-catalyzed transition metal catalysis in the absence of ligands. While there are certainly occasional examples of Pd catalysis run under "ligandless" conditions, by far most reactions, and specifically cross couplings, rely on the judicious choice of ligand. Today, there are seemingly unlimited numbers created for purposes of fine-tuning various properties on the resulting metal catalyst. Unfortunately, they tend to be designed mainly with the end game in mind: that is, a successful ligand assists in accomplishing a targeted synthetic goal, usually independent of the chemistry required to make it or the reaction parameters under which it's to be used. And while this successful approach has predominated for decades, times have changed; there's a growing appreciation of the processes themselves that prepare ligands in terms of their impact on the environment, with new analyses in focus, such as "Life Cycle Assessments" (LCA), "cradle to grave" evaluations, 2 and ultimately, the chemistry's effect on climate change (Figure ). Modern Pd catalysis still utilizes (1) organic solvents as reaction medium, notwithstanding their major role in waste-generation, according to the Green Chemistry Institute's Pharma Roundtable; (2) too much energy, in principle needed to drive reactions run in organic solvents to completion, and (3) catalyst loadings of this precious metal that are far too high, leading to upfront expenses as well as costs associated with its removal due to elevated residual levels of Pd in the products. Overall consumption of this limited planetary resource is yet another factor. Most of our efforts have zeroed in on these three reaction parameters, providing technologies that are based on Nature's environmentally responsible solutions to each. Thus, Pd-catalyzed cross couplings can now be done in water under micellar catalysis conditions, thereby avoiding traditional organic solvents. Cross couplings can be run under far milder conditions, with many at room temperature, taking advantage of the high concentrations (i.e., >2 M) characteristic of the inner cores of nanomicelles. And insofar as levels of Pd needed, the proper design of ligands that accentuate lipophilicity (in a "like-dissolves-like" sense, as with EvanPhos 6 and N2Phos 7 ) leading to an increase in residence time inside nanoreactors where catalysis likely occurs. By following these "new rules", 8 roughly ten times less Pd is needed per reaction, essentially solving the long-term availability issue.