PC giant Dell says it’s gonna go carbon neutral by 2008. It will be the first major computer firm to do so, it reckons.

In preparation for this, it’s making a complete carbon emissions audit this year and will offset all of its 2007 operations next year. And rather than costing the business millions, it reckons it will actually save money in the long run.

If it sparks off a race between tech giants, this is clearly a good thing. But there’s a few uncertainties in all this: offsetting is a far from certain solution, although the firm does call this a last resort. And, of course, this is only one side of the environmental picture: earlier this year, Dell was humbled by HP when the scale of the two firms’ recycling schemes were compared, showing that much work remains to be done. Still, it’s a fine step and we’re ready to applaud that.

More details on Dell’s efforts here:

Dell issued a challenge to its peer companies during Mr. Dell’s speech to join in “a long-term, carbon-neutral commitment to our shared Earth.” The company also announced a new programme called “Plant a Forest for Me” that enables organisations worldwide to join together with Dell and share best practices, partner and facilitate the planting of millions of trees in sustainably managed partner and facilitate the planting of millions of trees in sustainably managed reforestation projects. This programme is a continuation of the “Plant a Tree for Me” programme for consumers.

• Green certified homes sell faster, higher price