Sightline Daily casts a critical eye on the climate policies -- or should we say lack of policies -- from Pacific Northwest tech titans such as Amazon.com and Microsoft.

Sightline's Anna Fahey writes:

Climate Counts gave Amazon and Microsoft 5 and 38 points, respectively (out of 100 possible) on its "Climate Report Card." But, both companies received zero of ten points on "support for public policy that addresses climate change." (Google only got 55 points total...).

Standing on the sidelines of the debate in the state legislatures and in Congress can be as damaging as standing in the way. Groups that corporations affiliate with -- like the Chamber of Commerce -- are quick to use a company's silence as a sign of agreement.

TechFlash has been covering some of the efforts by Microsoft to reduce energy and implement new corporate policies when it comes to the environment, with Todd Bishop profiling the company's chief environmental strategist, Rob Bernard, earlier this year.

Sightline's Fahey does point out some of those efforts as well. But she notes that Microsoft and others need to speak out.

Additionally, Microsoft is a member of the US Chamber of Commerce, which has publicly campaigned against the Obama Administration's efforts for climate protection and clean energy policy. Because of this stance, a few leading Chamber members, including Oregon's Nike, have publicly broken with the Chamber, causing a big national stir. Redmond has been silent. 

[Flickr photo via OxfamInternational]