IBM vows 7 pct. cut in greenhouse gases - Yahoo! News

IBM vows 7 pct. cut in greenhouse gases - Yahoo! News

ARMONK, N.Y. - IBM Corp. is pledging that by 2012, it will have reduced its greenhouse gas footprint by 7 percent since 2005, primarily through energy conservation.
The technology company made the vow Thursday as part of the
Environmental Protection Agency' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Environmental Protection Agency's voluntary "Climate Leaders" program, in which more than 100 companies have committed to reducing their output of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
IBM's first such pledge was a 4 percent decrease from 2002 to 2005; the company says it achieved a 6.2 percent reduction.
IBM said it planned to achieve further reductions with improved energy efficiency in the offices used by its 356,000 employees worldwide. Wayne Balta, the company's vice president for environmental affairs, said IBM calculates its carbon-reduction results by analyzing the power sources that supply each of its facilities.
Balta said IBM was also working to further reduce its use of perfluorocompounds, chemicals thought to have a particularly long-lasting greenhouse effect in the atmosphere. PFCs are used to clean equipment in semiconductor manufacturing.
Because of rising fears about climate change, many companies expect some form of carbon regulation in coming years. Balta said the steps IBM is taking now should help the company prepare for such rules — and produce guidance it can share with customers.
___