In July 2006, Sony joined the Climate Savers Programme, which partners the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a leading environmental protection NGO, with companies in the drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Through the Climate Savers Programme, leading corporations partner with the WWF to establish targets for reducing absolute emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Progress toward these targets is monitored by an independent body.As of May 2012, 28 corporations worldwide had signed on as Climate Savers Programme partners.
Under the program, Sony is committed to achieving a 7% reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases from all of its sites from the fiscal year 2000 level by the end of fiscal year 2010, as well as to lowering energy consumption by its products and working with the WWF to communicate with consumers.
In November 2009, Sony announced a new set of climate change-related targets for fiscal year 2011 and beyond. These are to (a) achieve an absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions—measured in CO2 emissions—from Sony Group sites of 30% from the fiscal year 2000 level by the end of fiscal year 2015;and (b) achieve a reduction in power consumption per product of 30% from the fiscal year 2008 level by the end of fiscal year 2015. These targets were reviewed and approved by the WWF as revised targets for Sony under the Climate Savers Programme.

In February 2010, Sony and the WWF co-hosted the Climate Savers Tokyo Summit 2008, which was held at Sony's Tokyo headquarters and attended by representatives of current and intended program participants. In addition to the WWF's annual assembly, the summit for the first time welcomed participants representing industry and government, as well as the press. The summit featured presentations highlighting the efforts and achievements of program participants, as well as panel discussions featuring leading experts and a keynote address by James Leape, Director General of WWF International. The highlight of the event was the announcement by Sony Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer of the Tokyo Declaration, signed by 12 Climate Savers Programme participants. On behalf of the signatory companies, Mr. Stringer declared support for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its conclusion that global greenhouse gas emissions must peak and begin to drop in the next 10–15 years, to well below half the level recorded in 2000, by the middle of the 21st century. He further asserted that with the aim of realizing a low-carbon society the signatory companies will take further action, including trying to widen the scope of emissions reduction activities through greater cooperation with business partners and promoting a low-carbon lifestyle to consumers and customers.

In 2009, Sony also joined as a participant in the Climate Savers Programme's “Let the Clean Economy Begin” campaign, and has been actively engaged in a wide range of related initiatives. These include taking part in joint advertising activities and linking its corporate website with those of partner companies.

Sony undertakes a wide range of activities with the aim of promoting CSR initiatives. One example is its role as joint chair of the working group on the formulation of the ISO 26000, international standard of social responsibility published in November 2010, on which Sony submits reports in Japan through the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC). Sony is also involved in the development of a global CSR framework, which includes participating in the multi-stakeholder planning and revision process for the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI's) GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

In the area of climate change, Sony serves as a member of the advisory group of the Carbon Disclosure Project Japan, which promotes disclosure of corporate greenhouse gas emissions.

Sony is a member of numerous worldwide CSR organizations, including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Business For Social Responsibility (BSR), CSR Europe and the Council for Better Corporate Citizenship (CBCC). The WBCSD has established a project called the "Eco-Patent Commons," which is a collection of sleeping patents pledged by corporations to provide assistance with environment preservation. In January 2008, Sony joined forces with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) of the United States, Nokia Corporation of Finland and Pitney Bowes Inc. of the United States to launch a database of environment-friendly patents on a website hosted by the WBCSD.

The CBCC was established in 1989 as The Council for Better Investment in the United States, an initiative Nippon Keidanren, with the purpose of promoting good relations between Japanese-affiliated companies and various stakeholders, including local communities and employees, by encouraging good corporate citizenship. Sony's founder, Akio Morita, served as the organization's first chairman. Authorized as a “designated public benefit organization” in June 2010, the CBCC is currently chaired by Ryoji Chubachi, vice chairman of Sony Corporation

On January 15, 2008, Sony joined forces with IBM (USA), Nokia (Finland), Pitney Bowes (USA) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to launch the “Eco-Patent Commons.” This portfolio of patents for environmental technologies released by founding and participating members is available on a dedicated website hosted by the WBCSD. As of May 2012, 13 companies in a wide range of industries had released more than 100 patents.
The patents that make up the portfolio include patents that address environmental issues, as well as patents covering innovative manufacturing and business processes. Releasing these patents encourages their application in the development of innovative products, processes and services that contribute to environmental preservation.

The founding members of the Eco-Patent Commons Project, including Sony and other members of the WBCSD, are calling for other companies to join them in this initiative, which promotes innovation and collaboration with the aim of preserving the global environment.