News Limited blames printing for its carbon footprint

When Norske Skog announced that it will reduce its carbon emissions by one million tonnes a year, News Limited, its largest customer, was ecstatic.

"The printing of our newspapers is by far the biggest part of our carbon footprint, so we are delighted that Norske Skog is making such a substantial change for the benefit of us all," said John Hartigan.

Norske Skog plans to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent, about 1 000 000 tonnes of CO2 by 2020. The changes will take place through reduced energy consumption, conversion to alternative sources of energy and other measures.

"Over several years, we have reduced our emissions through significant investments in bioenergy and energy efficiency," said Norske Skog CEO, Christian Rynning-Tonnesen. "We are assuming an active role in further reducing CO2 emissions in our value chain in cooperation with our suppliers and customers.”

News Limited, who introduced the One Degree environmental initiative in 2007, said that this development from Norske Skog was in line with its plans to become carbon neutral in two years.

"Norske Skog's announcement ... to cut its 2006 emissions by 25 per cent by 2020 is the biggest single step in carbon reduction by any of our partners to date, and will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of our newspapers," Hartigan said. "We congratulate them on their foresight and commitment."