People who step into Herman Miller's 15,172-square-foot Atlanta Design Center are amazed by its natural beauty. Flooded with daylight, outfitted with sleek, energy-efficient appliances and run on sustainable power, it shines as an example of what can happen when creative ingenuity meets eco-consciousness. But then, this company helped write the rules of green design.

In 1995, Herman Miller helped found the Green Building Council, the organization that grants the coveted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification to businesses that build facilities according to sustainable principles. One of Herman Miller's own plants, the GreenHouse, even helped develop those guidelines. Today, ten of its company buildings are LEED-certified, out of 1,004 in the world.

As the company's eco-watchdogs, the 400-plus employees on Herman Miller's Environmental Quality Action team pore over every green detail. Their employer is already the largest user of renewable energy in its industry, but this team has bigger dreams: By 2020, it aims to eliminate hazardous waste, toxic emissions and landfill use at all sites. It's off to a good start, too: Six facilities already run on renewable wind power and landfill gas.

All Herman Miller products are traced from "cradle to cradle," evaluated at every step for safe content and recycla-bility. If toxins are found, the firm's Blue Marble team tries to remove them. No wonder the company is often called one of America's most admired.