Big Blue is charging ahead with its Big Green Innovations initiative with a second announcement in as many weeks of a new tool aimed at cutting corporate carbon footprints.

IBM announced today a new service targeting greenhouse gas emissions reductions called Strategic Carbon Management. It's a highly customizable tool that can help assess problem areas in a company's operations that represent prime targets for slashing energy use and emissions. From there, the company can help clients draw up a multi-pronged strategy.

This demo offers a snapshot of how Strategic Carbon Management works, including the different components of an operation the tool can assess, such as real estate holdings, IT equipment and data centers, products and employee travel. The process also helps companies weigh the costs and benefits of addressing greenhouse gas emissions "hot spots."   

Strategic Carbon Management costs a client about $300,000 to $500,000 to assess current performance and develop a comprehensive strategy to lower energy use and GHG emissions. The company claims a holistic plan based on resulting recommendations can cut corporate GHG emissions in half with corresponding reductions in expense.

That's based on the track records of the various solutions that may comprise a comprehensive GHG reduction strategy. It tested the solutions in-house to reduce its own carbon footprint. "We eat our own cooking," Eric Riddleberger, IBM's business strategy consulting global leader, told ClimateBiz Thursday.

Since 1990, the company has reduced its own energy consumption by 4.6 billion kilowatt-hours, saving IBM roughly $310 million.

Last week, IBM launched a project to make it easier for its clients to identify energy- and resource-efficient IT products.