Businesses Come 'Together' to Fight Climate Change

Cities, non-profits and businesses launched a climate change action campaign for U.S. consumers on Thursday, World Environment Day.

The “Together” initiative is the brainchild of The Climate Group. The program promotes energy-saving products and services, and aggregates the carbon dioxide and monetary savings of consumers participating in the initiative.

Together was first launched last year in the United Kingdom, where participating consumers saved more than $200 million on household energy bills and avoided 522,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The program will eventually roll out in Australia, China and India.

Corporate partners took the opportunity to make announcements, such as Target, which said it will offer more than a dozen Together products. The retailer also gave away 15,000 reusable bags and coupons for energy efficient light bulbs.

Partner Dell Inc. also revealed it recycled more than 100 million pounds of IT equipment last year, about 20 percent more than during 2006. Dell also became the first major computer manufacturer to offer Silver 80 PLUS-certified power supplies to its desktop customers, it said. The 80 PLUS program calls for power supplies in computers and servers to be 80 percent or more energy efficient. The supplies are up to 8 percent more efficient than Energy Star 4.0 standards.

Participants in the Together initiative include Chase, Dell, Lenovo, MySpace, Nestle Waters, RecycleBank, smart USA, Target and Timberland, as well as seven U.S. cities that include New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Seattle. Non-profits include Climate Counts, the American Red Cross in Greater New York and the National Wildlife Federation, among others.