Reed Elsevier has a direct impact on the environment through the energy and water we use, the waste we generate, through business travel and through our use of paper and a variety of printing and publishing processes. We work to control this impact. We also have a beneficial impact on the environment, producing publications and staging events which are helping to shape the debate on crucial issues like Climate Change.
Objectives
We have clear environmental targets and continue to manage our impact carefully through our Environmental Management System (EMS). We’ve said that we will cut our CO2 emissions by 10% by 2010 (using 2003 as our baseline), cut energy and water use by 10% by 2008 (compared with 2003) and reduce our transport emissions by 2% by 2009 (compared with 2005). We’re also aiming to recycle 60% of our waste by the end of this decade.
Achievements
The following table shows you the targets we have set and the progress we are making in meeting them:
As our use of online applications grows, we are using more energy at our data centres. This means it is unlikely that we will meet all of our targets in absolute terms. However, in line with suggestions from the UK Government, we report our progress in relative terms which takes into account the growth of our business. On this basis we have exceeded our targets for energy, transport and CO2. We will review our targets again in 2008.
Last year, however, we did meet our objective to externally audit full 2007 environmental data covering all key performance indicators – energy, water, waste and paper. Our EMS commits us to continually improve our performance. This is overseen by our network of environmental champions, the leaders of our three divisions and ultimately our CEO. Across the world we now have some 400 employees working as gREen team activists who encourage local action by employees to reduce our impact.
Environmental debate
We are proud that our publications, services and events are helping to promote environmental research and debate. We see this as a very positive impact on the environment. We produce more than 300 environmental publications, including New Scientist, The Encyclopedia of Biodiversity and Renewable Energy Focus, and stage important events such as Pollutec. In 2007 we launched the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, the first title to focus exclusively on technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We also launched the Environmental Law & Climate Change Center, an online resource providing environmental and climate change practitioners with essential data and expert commentary.
RE and Climate Change
We are committed to reducing the impact we have on climate by taking a range of proactive actions, including meeting our own reduction targets, understanding our carbon footprint in more depth, engaging with governments and other leading agencies, and harnessing our own expertise on the issue. We are aiming to cut our CO2 emissions by 10% by 2010 (using 2003 as our baseline) but will keep this target under close review taking account of new scientific research as it emerges. We are on track. When normalised against our commercial growth, our emissions have already been cut by 13% since 2003. In 2007 we were judged to be one of the best reporting companies in the Carbon Disclosure Project's environmental index.
Technology and paper
We are taking a range of steps to reduce the environmental impact of our operations. As well as having video conferencing in 100 locations we have installed NEMO real-time collaborative meeting rooms in Amsterdam, London and New York. These video, audio and data service rooms have reduced the number of trips employees would normally make to meet face-to-face. In total 401 NEMO sessions were run in 2007, saving an estimate 318 metric tonnes of CO2.
We are founding members of the Publishers Database on Responsible Environmental Paper Sourcing to grade and assure sources of the paper we use. Our journal Graphic Arts Monthly was selected in 2007 for the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership which aims to establish “green printing” in the US. Throughout the year the journal tested a variety of new processes, in a move which saved 42 trees, 8,821 kWH of energy and avoided 1.7 tonnes of greenhouse gas.