"The supply chain is the new frontier in environmental responsibility - an area rich with opportunity that remains mostly unexplored," non-profit group CDP, formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project, wrote in its report.

Many companies set their own goals to limit climate change but omit greenhouse gas emissions related to products they buy from others, such as metal components, electronic parts, timber or crops, said CDP, describing supply chains as a "missing link for sustainability".

"The vast majority of emissions of the average company are in the supply chain," Dexter Galvin, head of CDP's supply chain program, told Reuters. "Too few companies have engaged with their suppliers."

Other companies among those it praised for addressing climate change with their suppliers include Bank of America, Nestle and AkzoNobel. Overall, it found that only 22 percent of 4,300 companies surveyed were working with their suppliers to reduce emissions.

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