News UK awarded ‘ultimate accolade’ by Carbon Trust’

A 44% reduction in water consumption at one printing plant and a 75% reduction in waste-to-landfill at another has helped News UK achieve The Carbon Trust Triple Standard certification.


The British newspaper publisher, formerly known as News International, has been rewarded for reducing its overall carbon footprint by 20% over the past two years, making it the first – and only – media company in the world to achieve all three of The Carbon Trust’s standards.

News UK’s chief operating officer Chris Taylor said: “This award is testament to the commitment and hard work by staff across our three print sites and the operations team at News UK.

“We are extremely proud that our commitment to environmental efficiency, a key part of our culture as a company, has been acknowledged at this level and we will continue to build on these standards.”

The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times publisher has lowered its absolute carbon emissions every year since 2008 – contributing to a total CO2 reduction of 50% since 2008. 

Energy, waste, water

The firm recent made the move from Wapping to ‘The News Building’ – its new HQ in London Bridge which has been built to a BREEAM environmental rating of ‘excellent’. The News Building has helped News UK to: –

 

  • Improve waste management facilities – The News Building is currently recycling 80 per cent of office waste – an improvement of 10 per cent from its previous premises. 
  • Reduce carbon impact – no parking spaces for private vehicles on site. 
  • Create ‘The Green Champion Network’ – made up of staff from across the company to facilitate greener ways of working. All champions have been City & Guilds certified in Sustainability. 

The firm has also committed to wider environmental efficiency, beyond carbon reduction, at two of its three national printing sites. The Broxbourne site, in Hertfordshire, reduced waste-to-landfill for non-paper waste by 75% since 2012, while the firm’s Eurocentral print site in Glasgow reduced its water consumption by 44%.

Real reductions

Commenting on these achievements, The Carbon Trust’s chief operating officer Michael Rea said: “News UK is amongst a handful of leading companies that have managed recertify to the Carbon Trust Standard for continuous carbon reduction more than three times.

“Now the business has even more to be proud of in terms of its environmental performance, by achieving triple certification to the Carbon Trust Standard for real reductions in carbon, water and waste year-on-year.”

News UK joins the likes of Bentley, Nationwide and Marks & Spencer in achieving The Carbon Trust’s Triple Standard – which analyses a business’s carbon footprint, water usage and waste management.

Luke Nicholls

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