Thanks to economies of scale, green business innovations can pay unexpectedly large dividends for the environment and the bottom line. Here's the inside story on the simple ideas that helped three major corporations save big. By Pamela Mareghni

Sometimes, it's the small changes that can add up to big benefits. Just ask execs at Cox Communications, Sodexo, and Home Depot – all three companies have netted significant savings from relatively simple operational changes that are paying off for the planet as well. Read on for the inside scoop on how these great green ideas got off the ground.

Cox Communications: Filling Truck Tires with Nitrogen

Cable company Cox Communications hit the jackpot with eagle-eyed employee Jason Giali. The Arizona-based contract services manager couldn't help but notice that a lot of car dealerships in his area seemed to pumping up vehicle tires with nitrogen instead of air. Would such a strategy work for Cox’s fleet of service vehicles as well?

Turns out yes. Vehicles equipped with nitrogen-filled tires get more miles to the gallon, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, because they don’t leak air as quickly. And nitrogen doesn’t expand and contract as much with temperature changes, meaning less wear and tear on tires.

But, as any manager knows, a good idea doesn’t always make it to the implementation stage. Giali and his team canvassed all the available research – from university studies and tire manufacturers as well as the EPA – before making a move. “Everything pointed toward it being a good investment,” says Giali. “Air leaks out of tires at a rate of about 3-4 pounds per square inch per month, while nitrogen stays in tires longer.”

His initial estimates pointed to a 3% overall improvement in gas mileage across Cox’s fleet of 1,400 trucks – a significant savings given the total number of miles driven. In pitching the idea to higher-ups, Giali also noted that nitrogen is already in widespread use among commercial air carriers and NASCAR drivers due to safety issues: nitrogen doesn’t fuel fires as readily as air.

And the kicker? Giali’s numbers pointed to emissions reductions in the neighborhood of 500,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, thanks to better fuel efficiency.

This past May, Giali got the go-ahead to convert Cox's entire Arizona fleet to nitrogen-filled tires. It’s not as easy as it sounds, however. “It’s not just about deflating tires and then re-inflating them with nitrogen,” Giali explains. “This is a complex endeavor that requires an entire crew.” To cut down on labor costs, Giali plans to order all new delivery vehicles pre-equipped with nitrogen-filled tires, so that the trucks can get on the road – and start saving the company money – immediately.

Cox, for its part, is taking a wait-and-see attitude toward expanding the program. “It will take time before this program produces data that can be evaluated to see if it makes sense for other markets,” says Andrea Katsenes, Cox's director of media relations.

One company that won’t be waiting to take advantage of this savings opportunity? Penske - one of Cox’s biggest vehicle vendors. The company is already offering the option of nitrogen-filled tires to its other clients.

Xpressnap: Sodexo’s Single-Napkin Dispenser

While Cox is retrofitting the tires on 1,400 trucks, food-service supplier Sodexo is taking a simple concept to its 1,400 client sites: napkin dispensers that release one napkin at a time.

It’s been a year since Sodexo introduced the Xpressnap to its food service operations, and the results to date are impressive. Sodexo estimates that the program has reduced the number of napkins used by as much as 50%.

“These dispensers...are simple, easy, and effective ways that Sodexo is helping our clients to be more environmentally responsible,” says Arlin S. Wasserman, the company's VP of corporate citizenship. “They demonstrate how little things add up to a truly significant impact by implementing environmental programs across our company.”

Gallons of water saved: 10 million. Trees saved: 23,000. Gallons of oil saved: Half a million.

Home Depot's Switch to CFLs

Ever wonder how much energy goes into powering all those lighting fixtures on the sales floor at home-improvement centers? So did Home Depot. The retail giant recently announced that it's switching the bulbs in its lighting showrooms from incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient CFLs - a move that's expected to save the company $16 million annually.

The idea is the brainchild of Bill Templin, who heads the electrical department at a Home Depot store in Boulder, Colo. That particular store has a very large mezzanine with the kitchen and bath showroom on the upper level and the fan/light showroom directly below. The heat blowing upward from all those lamps was, to put it mildly, "an issue to contend with," according to Jean Niemi, communications manager at Home Depot.

Templin decided to replace most of the incandescent lightbulbs with CFLs, experimenting with various types for maximum visual effect. For example, explains Niemi, “when the lamp was visible in the fixture he used an A lamp or round globe lamp,” saving the "spiral (or ‘curly’) lamps for when the lamps were hidden by a globe or shade.” The end result? An aesthetically pleasing - and much cooler - shopping experience, according to Niemi.

The approach worked so well, in fact, that it caught the attention of Terry Snowden, a Home Depot energy systems manager who happened to be in town to review the new mezzanine store design, still in an experimental phase. Next stop for Snowden? A meeting with TCP, Home Depot’s CFL vendor, back at corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Ga.

Snowden worked with TCP to retrofit another store with CFLs according to Templin's principles. In the end, Snowden used seven different varieties of CFLs in about 70% to 80% of the light fixtures to achieve the desired look.

"The appearance of the fixtures is obviously one of the primary concerns of a merchant,” Niemi explains. "There are some fixtures and applications that the CFL does not lend itself to."

Home Depot is currently rolling out the CFL program in all of its stores, and expects to complete the transition by the end of this summer, Niemi says.

Lessons Learned

Each of these small changes are adding up to big savings - and not just for the company where the idea originated. In many cases, the ideas have filtered to partners and suppliers as well, as in the case of Cox Communications and Penske, and Home Depot and TCP. Sometimes it truly takes a small step to make a big difference.