Alma Media Press release 23 January 2012 at 11:00 EET
ALMA MEDIA SURVEYS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF PRINTED
NEWSPAPER AND ONLINE MEDIA
The printed newspaper is, on average, a more ecological
news media than an online service. This conclusion is based
on a comparison of the environmental impacts of one hour of
consumption of each media channel. However, taking into
account actual usage volume and consumption hours at the
current level, the annual environmental impacts of print
media generally outweigh those of a corresponding online
service. These are the results of a study carried out by
Alma Media in partnership with leading research institutes
to determine the life cycle environmental impacts of three
of its newspapers and their respective online services.
Comparing the environmental impacts of print media and
online services is difficult as the most significant
environmental impacts of print and online media mainly
concern different environmental issues. Moreover, the
results of the comparative study are influenced by the
definition of what is included and excluded from the
analysis, but also the fact that print and online media
tend to be used in a complementary fashion rather than
being seen as substitutes for each other. The amount of
time spent reading does not factor into the environmental
impact of the printed newspaper, whereas the impacts of
online media are largely dependent on reading time, the
number of loaded pages and the technical specifications of
the device used to access the service. As a result,
conclusions on which type of media is more ecological
depend on which functional unit is applied.
The unique study was the first evaluation of the
environmental impacts of print and online media, also
including in detail the environmental impacts of editorial
work. The media surveyed in the study included Alma
Media's Aamulehti and the Aamulehti.fi online service,
Iltalehti and Iltalehti.fi and Kauppalehti and
Kauppalehti.fi. The study was carried out by VTT Technical
Research Centre of Finland and the Centre for Sustainable
Communications at the Royal Institute of Technology in
Sweden. The study is part of the Green Growth programme of
Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and
Innovation.
Consumer choices play a key role in the environmental
impacts of online services
The study indicates that the environmental impacts of print
media are primarily created in the early part of the
product life cycle, i.e. paper production and printing.
Conversely, the environmental impacts of online services
are primarily created towards the end of the product life
cycle and related to factors involved with their
consumption, such as the production of the device used to
read the content.
The publisher can influence the environmental impacts of a
printed newspaper by making appropriate purchasing
decisions and by improving the energy and materials
efficiency of buildings and production operations. The
publisher can mitigate the environmental impacts of online
services through cooperation with supply chain partners and
by communicating with customers on the subject of the
ecological consumption of online services. The
environmental impacts of content production can be kept in
check through the effective management of work-related
travel and the methods of transportation used.
"The results of the study indicate that our new
printing press in Tampere, which will begin operations in
2013, and the new office building in Töölönlahti that will
be completed in late 2012, are positive steps that reduce
Alma Media's environmental impact. The two new
facilities will result in a marked improvement in Alma
Media's energy and materials efficiency. We will also
apply for LEED environmental certification for both
buildings. The survey has also inspired us to carefully
analyse the environmental impacts of the ICT supply
chain", says Kai Telanne, President and CEO of Alma
Media.
Communication and communications technology represent only
a marginal share of greenhouse gas emissions
As the field of communications becomes increasingly
digital, understanding the environmental impacts of ICT
will become more and more important for Alma Media as well
as the industry at large. The need for further research
highlighted in the study mainly concerns issues related to
the digitalisation of media.
"The results of the study reflect the way different
types of media complement each other. Comparing print and
online media side by side is not necessarily what we should
focus on. Instead, we should examine them as complementary
media channels, which is how consumers use them. Knowing
the environmental impacts of these operations is the first
step in developing effective measures to mitigate them. We
should also keep in mind that the media and media
technology industries represent approximately 2-4% of
global greenhouse gas emissions, while media plays a
crucial role in building a sustainable society through the
content it publishes", explains Minna Nors, VTT's
Research Scientist in charge of the project.
The survey was carried out to help Alma Media develop more
ecological ways of operating and respond to its
stakeholders' growing need for information on the
environmental impacts of the media industry. Previous
studies have not focused much on the impacts of online
media. Many previous studies on the subject tend to focus
largely on climate effects. Therefore, the newly completed
study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of
the environmental impacts of media.
Alma Media will organise a seminar, "Towards
sustainable media", at Finlandia Hall at 9:00-11:30 on
25 January to discuss the results of the study. Today, 23
January, is the last day open for registration for the
event. To register, send an email to the following address:
yritysvastuu@almamedia.fi.
Further information:
Riikka Poukka, Corporate Responsibility Coordinator, Alma
Media, tel. +358 (0)10665 2800
Further information on the research study:
Minna Nors, Research Scientist, VTT Technical Research
Centre of Finland, tel. +358 (0)40522 7108
Åsa Moberg, Research Scientist, Centre for Sustainable
Communications, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, tel. +46
8 790 8514
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