IBM consulting service begs the question: If your company isn't green, where does it stand on ethics?

IBM has come out and said it: The way a company treats environmental responsibility and green tech issues reflects on its corporate ethics. There, I've said it, too.

The company's consulting division has even come out this week with the IBM Corporate Social Responsibility Benchmarking Service so that YOUR business can figure out where it stands. The exercise will help a company figure out whether it views corporate social responsibility as an expense or an investment (half full vs. half empty), how effective its policies are for things like environmental policies, labor practices and regulatory compliance, and where the company stands with customers on all of the above. And, by the way, does it even KNOW what customers think?

Here's a link to the corporate sustainability report that IBM uses as the basis of its benchmark. From a numbers standpoint, about 70 percent of the executives responding to the survey see corporate social responsibility as an opportunity to grow revenue. Which is one reason that your team might want to embrace the concept even if they're uncomfortable with the touchy-feely aspects.

Here are areas that fall under IBM Consulting's corporate social responsibility focus: - Carbon footprint analysis and management - Environmental procurement - Monitoring of suppliers - Green data center

So here's where I ask: Is it getting hot in here? Is this stuff going too far?

You vote!

[poll id=11]