Climate Savers to target suppliers' carbon emissions

A dozen of the world's largest companies have pledged to crank up pressure on their partners, suppliers, customers and staff to cut their carbon footprint as part of a major global initiative to slash global emissions by 50 per cent by 2050.

In a "Tokyo Declaration" issued by the 12 companies signed up to the WWF-backed Climate Savers Initiative, they called for a more urgent response to the threat of climate change, arguing that global emissions had to peak within the next 10 to 15 years.

The group, which includes HP, Sony, Nokia and Nike, said they would now extend the initial goal of the Climate Savers Initiative, which focused on cutting their own emissions, and begin working with their business partners to reduce their carbon footprint.

The move is the latest in a line of initiatives designed to force the world's supply chains to green their operations. Most notably the Carbon Disclosure Project recently called on firms to sign up to a new scheme allowing them to request emissions data from their suppliers, which they could then use to pressure heavy polluters into improving their environmental performance.

Howard Stringer, chief executive of electronics giant Sony, which hosted the conference at which the declaration was made, urged business leaders not to lose sight of the need to curb emissions, warning that while there is a temptation to focus on short-term economic pressures businesses must bear in mind that it is "impossible for a business to flourish in a degraded environment".

"I went to Davos last month, originally expecting that climate change would be the main focus of the World Economic Forum," he told reporters at the event. " Instead, participants, unsurprisingly, were more preoccupied with the global financial meltdown than the meltdown of icebergs and glaciers."