CHICAGO, Ill. — Exelon yesterday announced its plans to measure the greenhouse gas emissions across its entire supply chain through the Carbon Disclosure Project's Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration, the first U.S.-based utility company to join the group.

As part of the process, Exelon will initially begin by asking its top 100 suppliers to report data on their emissions, as well as those suppliers' targets for reducing emissions and larger strategies for addressing climate change.

The move is the latest in Exelon's own environmental strategy, which includes a goal to achieve carbon neutrality through emissions reductions and offsets by 2020. Exelon was also ranked highest among American utilities, and among the top companies overall, in the CDP's 2007 Climate Disclosure Leadership Index.

As GreenBiz.com reported yesterday, a survey by the CDP's supply chain group found that barely one-quarter of the companies involved have set GHG reduction targets, although the vast majority believe it is a looming threat to business operations and a challenge to face in the near-term.

IBM, one of Exelon's largest suppliers, will take part in the program, and echoed the importance of the studying supply chains' footprints in an announcement yesterday. "Companies that are aware of their greenhouse gas emissions are more likely to take action to reduce those emissions," said Wayne Balta, IBM's vice president of environmental affairs. "That's why we believe this new program will further enable us to collaborate with our suppliers and innovate for our clients like Exelon, a company that is clearly taking a leadership role in addressing climate change."