More than 150 companies participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Leaders program, an industry-government partnership that guides companies as they develop long-term climate change initiatives. By participating in the program, Xerox and the other member companies track their greenhouse gas emission reductions, incorporate smart energy management programs and ultimately reduce their carbon footprints, making them leaders in the effort to limit climate change.

Climate Leader partners include Xerox, 3M, American Electric Power, EarthColor, Sandy Alexander, Target Corporation and The Word Bank — to name a few. When a company partners with the EPA in this program, it establishes a set of targets to reduce emissions from various sources. Emissions from energy use account for about 80 percent of total corporate emissions, says EPA director Kathleen Hogan. Hogan runs the Climate Protection Partnerships Division.

Xerox has made climate change one of its top environmental priorities. Most of Xerox’s greenhouse gas emissions, gaseous compounds in the air that trigger climate change, come from the use of fossil fuels and purchased electricity for power. To reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and to create environmental awareness, Xerox joined the Climate Leaders program and created a partnership with the Nature Conservancy to study forest management. In fact, Xerox is one of the first companies to earn multi-site, global “chain of custody” certifications by both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) for the paper it sells to customers. In addition to Climate Leaders, Xerox is a charter partner of the EPA Energy Star program and has launched hundreds of products that meet the stringent requirements of this program, saving energy and money for customers.

Companywide initiatives started by Climate Leader partners are making an impact. “Greenhouse gas reductions pledged through the climate leaders partnership are estimated on the order of preventing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 8 million cars annually, and this will continue to grow,” Hogan says.

Eleven Climate Leaders, including Xerox, have achieved their initial targets. “Our recent greenhouse gas milestone of achieving an 18 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions six years early is something that our entire organization can take pride in achieving,” says Patty Calkins, vice president, Environment, Health and Safety for Xerox. “We are working hard to help customers meet their business needs in the most energy efficient way possible.”

Climate Leaders that reach benchmarks are employing a wide range of solutions. “It includes cost-effective energy efficiency projects, practices and investing in cleaner supplies,” Hogan says. Using similar programs, Xerox prevented the emission of 87,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide last year.

To achieve its goals, Xerox created a strategic energy management plan and involved everyone in the company, including senior management. “We saved $18 million in 2006 with our greenhouse gas reduction plan, which can be attributed to three things: using new toner technologies and drastically reducing energy used in making the toner, reducing costs; longer lifecycles of our products and remote diagnostics lowering the number of miles driven by our service representatives, again lowering costs,” Calkins says. “Lastly, we are able to capture cost savings through practicing sound energy management in our facilities by using direct digital controls.” Xerox also empowered its employees to monitor their energy use by turning off lights and computers when not in use.

Calkins says that Xerox values its industry-government partnership with EPA because it pushes the company to the next level. “It allows us to share our successes, learn from others and bring the topic of climate change to the forefront of corporate discourse,” she says.

Xerox’s commitment to sustainability not only directly affects the environment, but it also affects its customers. “We are in business to help our customers work smarter and in many ways work in a more sustainable way,” Calkins says. “Whether it is energy efficient products and services, sustainability sourced paper or supplies that generate minimal waste, Xerox helps its customers achieve their business goals and minimize their environmental footprint.”

After achieving its initial goal, Xerox set another emission reduction target: 25 percent by 2012. “Regardless of what we do, there’s more to be done,” Calkins says. “Working with partners and customers will help us better tackle climate change issues moving forward.”

For more on climate change, read an article from Fortune.