The footprint of the media
What kind of footprint does the media leave in its environment?
According to a study published by the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, the media and media technology industries represent approximately three per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The ICT sector makes up 1.3% of this figure while the media sector contributes the remaining 1.7%. The study focused on the global IT infrastructure including, for example, server rooms, networks and the terminal devices used for consuming media content. The largest climate effect of the media sector was attributed to television operations and printed media.Tracing the carbon footprint of printed products
VTT Technical Research Centre has studied the environmental effects of printed products. VTT estimates that these effects have been reduced significantly over the past decades. Their results indicate that the end products of publishing and printing operations represent 0.54% of the daily climate impact caused by a Finnish consumer.The carbon footprint of a typical Finnish newspaper, covering the entire lifecycle of the printed product from the forest through papermaking and printing to distribution to households, disposal and recycling, is 150-190 g CO2e (Equivalent Carbon Dioxide, describes the entire climatic impact of a product converted into carbon dioxide). The climatic load of a Finnish newspaper is thereby roughly the same as that of a one-kilometre car drive. (VTT 2009.)
Alma Media's study to lead the way for environmental actions
Alma Media strives to offer information on the environmental impacts of printed and online media to its customers and anyone with an interest in the matter. As part of this effort, the company will carry out an extensive environmental study of some key products published by Alma Media in 2011. The target of the study is to estimate the ecological footprint, i.e. the total lifecycle environmental impact and not just the carbon footprint, of the print versions of Aamulehti, Iltalehti and Kauppalehti and the online versions of Iltalehti and Kauppalehti. The study, which will be the first of its kind in Finland and even internationally, will provide valuable information on not only Alma Media's products, but also on the environmental impacts of printed products and digital services in a broader sense. Alma Media has partnered with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden to carry out the study.
So far, there are few comparative studies on the environmental impact of a printed newspaper and an online newspaper but research by the Royal Institute of Technology indicates that there is no significant difference between the carbon footprints of these two products in Nordic conditions. However, the comparison is difficult as the size of an online newspaper's carbon footprint depends on such factors as the reading time and the energy efficiency of the computer used.
In addition to its own measures, Alma Media is actively involved in industry-wide environmental efforts such as the preparation of the environmental guidelines of the Federation of the Finnish Media Industry (Finnmedia) published in summer 2010 and the Print Power environmental communication project coordinated in Finland by the Graphic Industry association. The company's environmental efforts also received international attention in 2010 as the results of the global Carbon Disclosure Project showed that Alma Media had more than doubled its score from the previous year and was the best Nordic media company featured in the reporting framework.
Page last updated 14.04.2011
