News Corp Australia reveal plans to achieve net zero goals by 2050

News Corp Australia is following its global company’s target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This is how we plan to achieve it.

News Corp Australia’s new environment goals align with its global company’s target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The goals focus on reducing the company’s carbon footprint through cleaner sources of energy, reducing the reliance on single-use plastics and sourcing newsprint from certified material.

News has already made significant reductions: reducing emissions by 27 per cent since 2016, achieving zero waste to landfill at print sites and sourcing 100 per cent of newsprint from certified mills.

Dean Gray publishing supervisor with plastic being put into the recycle bin. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Announced in September, the set of six environmental goals are managed by an executive environmental leadership group responsible for ensuring News meets and exceeds the environmental targets and overseeing major corporate and operational initiatives such as 1 Degree.

News Corp Australia’s 1 Degree environmental initiative has achieved a remarkable series of environmental milestones since it launched in 2007 as well as inspiring many staff under the ethos of taking small steps that add up to make a big difference on the environment.

Milestones include landmark projects such as 1 Switch, a custom computer software to reduce energy use by switching computers to sleep mode. 1 Switch was the single largest national carbon reduction project undertaken by the company. When it launched in 2012, energy use fell by 11 per cent in three weeks as staff chose to “power down” their computers. 1 Switch also became the first software to receive Energy Saving Certificates from the NSW Government.

News Corp Australia’s One Degree program continues. Picture: Richard Walker

Other 1 Degree projects include a carbon calculator to help Australians estimate the size of their carbon footprint and discover the best ways to trim it down, taking the Victorian Government’s Take2 pledge, and producing the 1 Degree Zero Waste film featuring inspiring zero waste leaders such as OzHarvest’s Ronni Kahn.

News Corp’s global approach to the environment is driven by a clear purpose to contribute meaningfully to society by minimising environmental impacts, growing the business sustainably and inspiring others to take action.

In 2017, News Corp committed to develop science-based targets in partnership with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

News Corp Australia’s staff are embracing cleaner and greener ways to live and work. Picture: Richard Walker

News Corp’s Science Based Targets are: reduce our fuel and electricity carbon emissions 60% by 2030 from a 2016 base year, partner with our suppliers to reduce our supply chain carbon emissions 20% by 2030 from a 2016 base year.

News Corp Australians goals are:

*Reduce our carbon footprint by 5 per cent every year to reach 60 per cent by 2030.

*Contribute to our global goal to reduce emissions in our supply chain by 20 per cent by 2030.

*Achieve zero waste to landfill across our major sites by 2025, with a special focus on reducing single-use plastic.

*Source 100 per cent of newsprint from certified material by 2025.

*Seek opportunities to power our operations with cleaner sources of energy.

*Work with our staff and stakeholders for 1 Degree of change.

For more on this series go to: www.missionzero2050.com.au

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