The greening of Scott Williams started innocently enough when he volunteered for the recycling committee at his son's school. Two years later, the head of Lex Brodie's has gone from throwing away aluminum cans in the lunch room to organizing an environmental initiative that rewards people for improving their health, their community and the environment.

Through his eco-friendly brainchild, GreenFleet Hawaii, Williams hopes to persuade people to carpool, ride bicycles and walk. In turn, their efforts will directly benefit needy groups who will receive donations based on the amount of miles moved.

• Carpool Challenge calculates the number of miles saved by having fewer commuters and translates that into donations to Lanakila Meals on Wheels.

• ReCYCLE Energy will help schools fulfill their green wishes, from more compact fluorescent light bulbs to Energy Star appliances, whenever bicyclists go for a ride.

• Tread for Bread aims to help the Hawaii Foodbank and the Institute for Human Services by converting calories burned walking, hiking or jogging into pounds of food for the hungry.

It costs nothing to join GreenFleet Hawaii, and members will receive free computer programs that are designed to help them live greener.

GreenFleet Hawaii is sponsored by Lex Brodie, but exists as its own company, Williams said. The goal is to get other companies involved.

And yes, Williams is aware that some will view this as an impossible fit for a business that makes its money selling tires, automotive maintenance and gasoline.

He said he hopes people will judge the program by what it does.

"The beauty of all the programs is they are green and good for the environment, but they are also good for the individual and good for the community," Williams said. "As people do it they will start to see, 'I am doing something good for myself and raising money for a charity.' And as it starts to click, individuals will buy into the process."

The program started in September and, so far, about 600 people have signed up.

Williams got his first lesson on being green when his son was a 6-year-old at Kawaiaha'o Church School, which recycles cans, makes its own compost and has a pledge of allegiance to the earth. Being involved changed him, Williams said.

"Before this I wouldn't lift a finger to recycle," he said. "I had no interest in it."

Now he digs empty cans out of rubbish cans and calls himself "the green police" at work, he said.

Williams partnered with Tom Flores, owner of the advertising company PuaDog Studio, to create GreenFleet Hawaii. Lex Brodie's is one of his clients, so Flores was keen on being sure that Williams understood the risk he was taking, he said. If he was going to go beyond green — his eco-friendly company's motto — Williams would need to demonstrate he was sincere.

"It's such a buzz now, so everybody is marketing green," said Flores, who also serves as the vice president for marketing and operations for GreenFleet Hawaii. "There's a potential backlash." Flores recognizes that some observers are cynical about businesses' green efforts, labeling them "green-washing," or public-relations moves that cover up environmental ills.

Nevertheless, the two feel they have found the right solution in GreenFleet Hawaii.

"Let's help people be as green with their automobiles as they possibly can," Flores said.

The men also believe that more people would live greener, or at least embrace greener behavior, if it were somehow easier. That thinking led them to create a fourth feature to GreenFleet Hawaii, which they call a reverse paper route. People can bring their newspapers to certain Lex Brodie's locations and drop them off when they buy gas.

"We found through research that people do want to recycle but they don't always know where to take it," Flores said. "We are providing more locations and also more information on what you can recycle."

The 41-year-old Williams started working at Lex Brodie's right out of high school in 1986, pumping gas.

"I have had a lot of people come up and say, 'Why is Lex Brodie's doing this? Aren't you going to sell less tires or less gas?' " Williams said, answering: "Potentially. But whatever is good for the community and the environment is good for us."

His son, now 8, is proud of the effort, Williams said. The boy wants his father to buy a hybrid car like a Toyota Prius, a purchase that will likely put the final stamp on the green transformation.

At the moment, Williams drives an H3 Hummer.