Template:IBM carb Sep-07

From Lauraibm

Full article: IBM moves into carbon consulting (23-Aug-07)

IBM moves to add carbon consulting to its huge global business consulting operation. Demand for such services is being driven by competitive pressures to be seen as green as well as by all-but-inevitable caps on greenhouse gas emissions. Adds Clark, who is director of strategic insights at IBM's Venture Capital Group in Silicon Valley: "It becomes a competitiveness issue when everyone else is doing it and you look like the ogre of the block if you don't." He says the pressure is particularly intense in Silicon Valley, where companies like Google (GOOG), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW) increasingly compete on carbon.

"There are some humongous pitfalls in working out carbon footprints," notes Williams. "There is no agreed protocol for calculating carbon footprints. You’re going to have people make all kinds of claims." He says figuring out the carbon content of transportation and packaging is comparatively easy while calculating the carbon content of an individual product "is a tough nut to crack." Says Clark: "We think the added value is being able to integrate carbon accounting with the rest of your business.