Dell Computer has become the first IT company to join the CDP's Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration, a group working to develop standardized methods of reporting carbon dioxide emissions across a company's supply chain.

The company said it joined the group because of its belief that working on a standardized system makes it easier and more efficient for suppliers to report emissions and helps avoid multiple reporting requirements. Dell will begin working with its suppliers on reporting data relevant to its business, and CDP will provide guidance on reporting requirements.

"Our global supply chain is integral to Dell's long-term commitment to become the greenest technology company on earth," said Martin J. Garvin, Dell's Chief Procurement Officer. "This means partnering with suppliers, customers and stakeholders to drive meaningful and positive change."

The Carbon Disclosure Project created the SCLC to bring its member companies' suppliers into the reporting process as a way of deepening knowledge about an enterprise's overall carbon footprint and gathering other information relevant to climate change, like GHG emissions data, targets for reducing emissions and a company's strategy for climate cahnge. The group said this is the first effort to create a single standardized mechanism to measure company carbon footprints throughout their supply chain.

More information about the program is available at The Carbon Disclosure Project's website.