U.S. cities, firms to push consumer climate fight

Timothy Gardner, Reuters 4 Jun 08;

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A campaign founded in Europe to help consumers fight climate change will be launched in the United States on Thursday by U.S. cities including New York, leading American companies and non-profit groups.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, along with U.S. companies from JP Morgan Chase & Co. to Target Corp., are involved in the Together campaign.

The initiative plans to steer people toward the most environmentally friendly products and encourage green practices, such as consumers' opting out of receiving paper catalogues.

"Everyone has been talking about big government fighting climate change but more and more consumers are looking for brands to play a role in helping to solve the problem," Callum Grieve, North American external affairs director of The Climate Group, a non-profit initiating Together, told Reuters.

The Climate Group launched Europe's Together program last year with the help of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. Since then, it has helped consumers cut 522,00O tonnes of carbon dioxide and saved them over $200 million on household energy bills, the group said.

Bloomberg and Ban are set to help launch Together on Thursday, with mayors from cities including Seattle, Miami and Boston taking part.

As the governments of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, including the United States, China, India and the European Union, struggle to form a global alliance to cut emissions, The Climate Group says Together can help individuals make small carbon output cuts that combined can make big dents in energy use and emissions.

SET TO GO GLOBAL

Cities and companies will help guide consumers to products like shower heads that cut water flow and energy efficient appliances through a Web site, www.together.com.

Some so-called "green" goods are more environmentally friendly than others, so The Climate Group will determine which goods are best with a third party group called Environmental Resources Management, it said.

U.S. companies plan to offer green solutions through Together such as paperless check deposits and paperless banking.

Nonprofit groups including Mercy Corps, which works with victims of disasters, conflicts and chronic poverty, and the National Wildlife Federation, a conservation group, are also joining Together.

NWF, for instance, hopes to use Together's Web site to draw more people to its Catalog Choice program in which consumers can tell companies not to send product catalogs in the mail, saving transport costs.

"What we really haven't had is the wherewithal to fully get the word out on some of our programs," NWF education expert Kevin Coyle said.

After launching Together in America, The Climate Group plans to expand the campaign to China, India and Australia.

(Editing by Michelle Nichols and Cynthia Osterman)