One degree making a difference

It has slashed the vehicle emissions of the News Limited national fleet by almost 30 per cent and put it in the enviable position of a carbon neutral company.  Critical selection of new fleet vehicles has, since News Limited embarked on its One Degree energy efficiency mission in 2007, resulted in 24 per cent of new cars purchased emitting less than 150 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

In total, the company's fleet is emitting almost 30 per cent less CO2 compared with three years ago.  One Degree accurately demonstrates how energy efficiency - and in this case, careful fleet vehicle purchases - can make substantial changes to the environment.

But it doesn't stop there. The chairman and chief executive of News Limited, John Hartigan, says the company is on track to achieve its goal of reducing its emissions by 20 per cent.

Low-emission - and therefore low fuel consumption - vehicles added to the fleet since 2007 include the Australian-made Toyota Camry Hybrid. It also has Toyota Prius Hybrids, Honda Civic Hybrids and diesel passenger cars including Hyundai i30 and Mazda6.

The trend to smaller, more efficient cars is reflected in new additions including the Ford Fiesta and Golf - in diesel and petrol - models.  New Ltd Manager, Environment & Climate Change, Dr Tony Wilkins, says it's not just diesel and hybrids that are reducing corporate emissions.

"The Volkswagen Golf TSI petrol surprised us with its 149g/km CO2," he says.  "That has helped bring down the fleet's carbon footprint since 2007 by 24 per cent."

In total, News Limited has reduced its emissions by 18.4 per cent in 2009-2010 and is expected to meet its 20 per cent goal in the 2010 calendar year, when figures are released.

Efficiency measures introduced over the past three years had reduced carbon emissions by 8.4 per cent (from 146,166 tonnes of carbon dioxide to 134,880 tonnes) with an additional 10 per cent reduction coming from renewable energy certificates.

"In June 2007 we launched One Degree, setting aggressive targets to cut carbon emissions across every part of our operations," Mr Hartigan says.  "We started with one idea and a singular commitment, auditing over 85 per cent of operations and identifying 179 carbon reduction projects to change how we approach every aspect of our business.

"As a result we have cut almost 30 per cent of vehicle fleet emissions, business travel is down by 22 per cent through the use of video conferencing and we have invested in more energy-efficient equipment to reduce emissions from lighting, cooling and printing."

Mr Hartigan says One Degree is proof that small changes can add up to a big difference. 

"One Degree has become part of the way we do business, and that will continue.  We are saving money by using less energy; it's an issue our employees are interested in; and it's an issue our readers continue to want debated."