[Editor's note: This article was authored by BSR, a global business network and consultancy focused on sustainability.]

As negotiators gather in Copenhagen next month to discuss a global climate policy framework, there has never been a better time for companies to influence policy instruments that could dramatically affect the future of climate change.

Business' management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is already improving. According to the Carbon Disclosure Project (PDF), more than 70 percent of the world's 500 largest companies are now reporting their GHG emissions, and similar efforts are spreading rapidly, especially in the BRIC countries and throughout Asia.
 
Meanwhile, global emissions are continuing at a pace to surpass the 2 degrees Celsius threshold of climate change caused by a 350- to 450-parts-per-million concentration level. Even if we enact the most aggressive legislation proposed today, the concentration of GHG emissions would continue to rise rapidly, according to calculations from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's C-ROADS simulator. Meanwhile, there are questions about whether countries such as the U.S. and China --- which together account for nearly 50 percent of global emissions -- will be able to garner political support for basic commitments.

Under current regulatory frameworks, there is virtually no economic cost for producing GHG emissions, and it is increasingly clear that reversing the current path of climate change will require policies that put a price on carbon. By stimulating innovation in processes and products that would encourage a low-carbon economy and effectively align economic and environmental interests, this would address the single largest impediment to the significant expansion of fossil fuel alternatives. 

Enacting such policies can happen only with the support of the private sector. Hundreds of companies ranging across industries and geographies -- from British Telecom to Aspen Skiing Company to Levi Strauss to Shell -- now consider climate policy engagement a key part of their efforts. These pioneers are demonstrating that there are many levers for informing and advancing effective climate policy.

Here are some examples and ideas to consider:

Direct and indirect engagement: Aspen has helped advance climate policy directly by submitting an amicus brief (PDF) to the U.S. Supreme Court, which led to a ruling that requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate GHGs. Direct action -- which includes advocacy like this as well as lobbying for specific laws -- is the most obvious option for climate policy engagement. There are also important opportunities to engage indirectly, such as by empowering the public to advance policy through education, and giving them more of a voice with policymakers. Marks & Spencer, for example, is inviting stakeholders to add their views by uploading patches to a virtual "quilt" that will be presented to negotiators at Copenhagen.

Input via multiple policy cycle stages: The previous examples emphasize input into policy formulation, but companies can also affect policy at other stages. For example, Hewlett Packard and Intel are co-leading an initiative of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition to develop a standard industry approach to measuring GHG emissions in supply chains. This effort aims to inform policymakers about how companies can share information at the operations level across borders. This will play a part in framing potential policy options. Once policy has been formulated, companies can engage in implementation in various ways. For example, the EPA offers 30-plus business partnership programs (PDF), to which companies such as Dell have subscribed, that offer feedback for further policy development.

Individual and collaborative action: Timberland (PDF), Vale (PDF), and China Light & Power (PDF) are making individual appeals for robust climate policy, but they are also working collectively. Timberland, for example, is a member of the Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (see sidebar for a list of coalitions). Other companies are focused on influencing the direction of existing business groups. PG&E and a host of others, for example, have left the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in protest of the organization's position on climate legislation.