Major firms back 2050 climate change target[fr][de] 

The Tokyo Declaration, signed in the Japanese megalopolis on 15 February, supports the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) in its assessment that "global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) need to peak in the next 10–15 years and be reduced to very low levels, well below half of the levels in 2000, by the middle of the twenty-first century". 

The non-binding declaration includes a voluntary pledge to "widen the scope of emission reduction activities in partnering with our business partners" to improve consumer habits and "enhance the transparency of our carbon footprint and related reduction activities".

It is the latest in a series of corporate-level commitments related to climate change.

WWF's Climate Savers programme, for example, is a private sector/NGO partnership that involves firms like IBM, Lafarge and Johnson & Johnson which have pledged to reduce their CO2 output by 10 million tonnes per year by 2010. 

Global business leaders also promised to "step up to the plate" on climate change during the 21-26 January World Economic Forum in Davos, and on 12 December 2007 nearly 350 global firms chimed in to the Bali climate talks, calling for a post-2012 climate change deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

Major European companies will discuss the impact of climate change and energy issues on their businesses during the 21-22 February European Business Summit (EBS ) in Brussels. 

Despite this flurry of activity, a recent survey by the consulting firm McKinsey found that many firms are not translating their growing attention on climate change issues into core strategic action, despite increasing awareness of the potential opportunities for profit-making (EurActiv 18/02/08).  

The lack of predictable and harmonised regulations may be partly to blame for a lack of concrete corporate engagement.  

But the 12 signatories to the Tokyo Declaration - Allianz Group, Catalyst, The Collins Companies, Hewlett-Packard Company, Nike, Inc., Nokia Corporation, Novo Nordisk, Sagawa Express, Sony Corporation, Spitsbergen Travel, Tetra Pak and Xanterra Parks & Resorts – have not made their commitment dependant on a specific regulatory framework. 

Instead, their declaration is "based on the belief that our voluntary, action-oriented, innovative effort will help to fight climate change and that more companies should follow our example".

Meanwhile, electronics manufacturer Philips announced that its sales of 'green products' had increased by one third between 2006 and 2007.