W.W. Grainger is a $7.2 billion Fortune 500 industrial supply company, based in Chicago, Illinois. The company, a behemoth business-to-business brand, offers more than a million products -- motors, lighting products, fasteners, tools, plumbing and safety supplies -- from over 3,000 manufacturers, including major brands such as GE, 3M, Rubbermaid, Ingersoll-Rand and Honeywell. Grainger markets these products to over 2 million customers in 153 countries. Their largest markets are commercial, government and heavy manufacturing.

Since joining the U.S. Green Building Council in 2007, Grainger has focused on sustainability in two primary areas: improving its own operations and expanding the number of "green" products and services they offer. GreenBiz.com's Heather King talks to CEO James Ryan about the broadening sustainability focus in the heavy manufacturing market, Grainger's catalogue of 8,000-plus "environmentally preferable" products, and how product innovations such as Georgia-Pacific's enMotion paper towel dispenser yield surprising energy, waste and labor savings.

Heather King: Grainger partners with a large number of Fortune 500 suppliers -- such as Diversey -- and a vast universe of manufacturing and commercial customers. Are your suppliers or your customers more instrumental to Grainger's sustainability commitment?

James Ryan: It's actually all of them -- suppliers, distributors and customers. Our customers are the people that keep workplaces up and running. Whether it's a government institution, a manufacturing facility, or a commercial office building, our customers are looking to get more efficient. They're operating in a more competitive environment, wherein greater efficiency helps their business become more productive and profitable. The reason sustainability's important is the combination of the economics and the recognition that it's the right thing to do. Because efficiency and sustainability are good for our customers, they are good for us.

We are also working closely with our suppliers, especially on products relating to energy and cleaning chemicals. Many, like Diversey, have been driving the shift in their own business and have pulled us in on [sustainability] customer councils to understand and evaluate ways to reinvent our products and services.

HK: Can you give examples of products that offer significant efficiency and sustainability gains?

JR: We offer over 8,000 'environmentally preferable' products. It is one of our fastest-growing product categories.

Lighting has been a big opportunity for us. Most office and manufacturing facilities have significant lighting needs. For years, we've been one of the largest lighting distributors in North America. Now, we help our customers reduce their energy consumption through more energy-efficient lighting. We've become one of the largest distributors of energy-efficient lighting.

In fact, we do more than sell energy-efficient lighting. In 2009, we bought Alliance Energy Solutions, an energy service business that helps companies reduce their energy consumption. Now we'll go into an office building or a manufacturing plant and we'll do an assessment of their lighting. We'll help customers figure out how much they're spending on lighting and what the potential for costs-savings is if they go to more energy-efficient light bulbs and fixtures. We assist with installation as well as help customers capitalize on local utility rebates, and tax incentives.

In terms of chemicals, we will launch a product this year that we have been testing at our corporate headquarters: Tough Guy's Ionator. The Ionator uses ionized water -- an effective direct removing cleaning agent -- instead of cleaning chemicals. Customers can just refill water from the tap. It is easy to use and greatly reduces the need for chemicals in the workplace. This product saves customers money and helps preserve the environment while still cleaning facilities as well, or better, than traditional, chemical-based products.

Some innovations offer greater sustainability benefits than you might think. We recently conducted a test in our own facilities using a Georgia-Pacific's enMotion, a motion sensor paper towel dispenser instead of traditional folded towels. Our tests indicate 30-70% savings on multiple fronts -- product costs, waste, emissions, and labor. Georgia-Pacific actually earned our Green Supplier of the Year award this year.