April 13, 2009 - IBM has further expanded its green consulting offerings with a new service to help companies establish sustainability standards throughout their supply chains.

The IBM Sustainable Procurement service is designed to help clients define cost, efficiency, and sustainability metrics and goals for their procurement activities. It also helps clients develop and implement strategies for measuring suppliers' compliance with their sustainable procurement goals, IBM says.

"Driving sustainability practices through a global supply chain provides the biggest opportunity for companies and government agencies to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact on a large scale," says Eric Riddleberger, heads of IBM's corporate social responsibility consulting efforts. "It creates a domino effect, helping all supply chain partners become greener, more efficient and economical, and improving their contributions to the communities and countries they operate in."

IBM has launched a wide range of sustainability consulting services over the past year, from CSR to green design to carbon management to water efficiency. In January, IBM reported helping Chinese shipping giant COSCO cut carbon emissions 15% and fuel costs 25% via its SNOW supply chain management consulting service.