Greenpeace Asks Tech Cos To Oppose US Chamber Of Commerce

Technology companies like International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Google Inc. (GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) are being pressured by environmental group Greenpeace to distance themselves from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the business group's opposition to federal climate change legislation.

Greenpeace, which released a ranking of technology companies based on environmental criteria on Tuesday, says IT firms should do more to advocate for climate change legislation. Many IT companies have made environmentally-focused projects centerpieces of their business strategies.

"The position of IT groups like Microsoft, Google and IBM on climate change is nearly 180 degrees opposite to what's being said by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce," said Casey Harrell, a Greenpeace coordinator.

The Chamber of Commerce opposes climate change legislation that has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, known as the Waxman-Markey Bill, which seeks to cap emissions and mandate greater use of renewable energy. Several big U.S. companies, including nuclear power operator Exelon Corp. (EXC), and utilities PG&E Corp. (PCG) and PNM Resources Inc. (PNM), support the bill and have distanced themselves from the Chamber's policies.

IBM has publicized energy efficiency initiatives for its corporate customers and has lobbied the Obama Administration and other government leaders about the role IBM can play in developing green infrastructure. Google has backed start-up companies in the green energy field with venture capital.

An IBM spokesman said the company believed climate change was a "serious issue" that needed to be addressed by the public and private sector. But the company believes framing legislation should be "the province of climate change scientists and legislators," he said.

A spokesman for Google said the company didn't support the Chamber of Commerce's approach to climate change and had asked that it "stopped characterizing their views as representative of the broader membership."

Neither the Chamber of Commerce nor Microsoft could immediately be reached for comment.

-By Jessica Hodgson, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6455; [e-mail]

(Cassandra Sweet contributed to this article.)