Environmental Defense, a nonprofit organization seeking cost-effective solutions to environmental problems, has compiled its first “Top 10 List of Green Corporate Initiatives,” recognizing businesses that have adopted “green” practices and technologies in 2006 that can also improve their bottom line.

Topping the list at number one, Yahoo!Autos and Environmental Defense launched a partnership to give consumers easy-to-use environmental ratings for their car choices. Environmental Defense provided Yahoo! with a methodology to calculate a "Green Rating" that accounts for both the global warming and smog impacts of any car. The ratings are part of a new "Green Center" on Yahoo!Autos. Number four on the list, PHH Arval, the second largest fleet management company in the country, and Environmental Defense announced the launch of North America's first fleet management program designed to reduce both emissions and costs. PHH GreenFleet is a climate-neutral program that helps clients to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption from their fleets and then offset the remaining emissions. Rounding out the list at number 10 was the rise in the number of companies using hybrid trucks. Following the example set by the Environmental Defense partnership with FedEx, which launched the first commercially available hybrid trucks in 2005, many other companies are now following suit. UPS purchased 50 new hybrid trucks and is launching with the Environmental Protection Agency the first diesel hydraulic hybrid, in which energy from braking is stored in the hydraulic fluid rather than in a battery. The U.S. Postal Service, Purolator Courier, liquor distributor Charmer Sunbelt, Frito-Lay and Florida Power & Light are also using hybrid trucks.