Carbon Trading

Such reports may help ensure that IBM gets credit for early actions if Congress mandates carbon reductions. Still, critics point out that most U.S. businesses set relative — and not absolute — carbon-reduction targets. Typically, the goals are tied to key performance indicators, such as revenues or units sold. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, for example, expresses its CO₂ emissions in terms of thermal units per $1,000 of net sales. That's understandable, given that the coffee purveyor is growing at a 30 percent annual clip. But it's unclear what effect — if any — relative CO₂ reductions will have on global warming. "I did suggest an absolute CO₂ reduction once," says Paul Comey, vice president of environmental affairs at Green Mountain. "But our operations people nearly went into shock." — J.G.

To see "Accounting for Waste" — a list of entities providing greenhouse-gas credits, and reporting standards underpinning such offsets — click here.

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