The United Nations is saluting Bay Area businesses for being the first in the nation to combat global warming. In fact, that initiative will be show-cased at the U.N. meeting in Geneva in July.

Local 3 Phases customer, Waldeck's, has been in business for 54 years. It's a typical office supply store -- with a twist -- the owner is environmentally aware. He has recycling bins for everything from computers to cell phones -- his paper products come from recycled materials.

Clifford Waldeck, Waldeck's Office Supply: "I want my business to become a place that is green from the ground up."

He has joined others from around the Bay Area who share that view as part of a new program praised today by a representative from the United Nations. It's called the Business Council On Climate Change, or BC3 -- companies coming together to share ways to reduce greenhouse gases.

Other San Francisco-based 3 Phases customers who received awards were Gap and SMWM Architecture.