A Community Media Company
Our aim is to serve local communities by meeting their needs for local news, information and advertising services through a range of media including print and digital channels which together achieve unparalleled levels of market reach.
CSR Report
Johnston Press is committed to operating all of the Group’s business activities to the highest standards of business ethics and integrity. These principles are included in contracts of employment and in the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility Statement.
Business Ethics
The Company’s code of ethics is supported by clear policies and procedures for addressing issues such as bribery, corruption, conflicts of interest, espionage and the giving and receiving of gifts. These policies have been reviewed in light of the Bribery Act 2010 and will be monitored as that Act is fully implemented. An acceptable use policy has been developed for all of the Group’s assets including, but not restricted to, computer equipment, email facilities and use of the internet. This policy is issued to employees with supporting guidance and is designed to protect both the employee and employer from misuse of the Group’s resources.
The Group always seeks to act as a fair and reasonable employer, and acknowledges and is keenly aware of its responsibilities to the many communities it serves; whether it is readers, customers, suppliers, shareholders, other stakeholders or the environment. A separate section is incorporated within this report detailing examples of some of the many community orientated activities in which the companies are involved.
Board Responsibility
The Board has delegated the day-to-day responsibility for all matters related to Corporate Social Responsibility and social issues to the Executive Directors. They are assisted by Peter McCall, the Company Secretary, who is generally the first point of contact.
Specific responsibility for environmental issues was delegated to Stuart Paterson, the Chief Financial Officer, who also chaired the Group’s Carbon Footprint Taskforce (which will be chaired by the Company Secretary going forward).
While recognising that recruitment, employment and training practices are the responsibility of all managers, responsibility for formulating, updating and ensuring adherence to Group policies and relevant legislation has been delegated to Malcolm Vickers, the Director of Human Resources, who reports to John Fry, the Chief Executive Officer.
Each local Managing Director has responsibility within their operation for relationships with customers, suppliers and the community. These relationships are subject to review by the Chief Operating Officer. Certain materials and services such as newsprint, plates, ink, motor vehicles and legal and professional services are sourced centrally and these arrangements are subject to review by either the Chief Operating Officer or the Chief Financial Officer, depending on the nature of the supply.
As part of the Board’s ongoing review of Corporate Governance, the Directors review issues covered by the Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Statement on a regular basis.
The Company seeks to monitor developments in relevant environmental, social and governance issues and to respond to changes in legislation, regulation and best practice. Environmental, social and governance risks are assessed as part of the Group’s ongoing risk analysis.
Health & Safety
The Group has rigorous health and safety management and reporting processes in place. Health and safety is at the core of our operations, and is a specific item on all business agendas at local, divisional, Group and Board levels. There are Health & Safety Committees in every Group Company and the Chief Operating Officer chairs the Group Health & Safety Committee, which instructs and reviews audit visits, monitors compliance with Group policies, ensures those policies are kept up to date and spreads best practice. Early in 2011 the Group appointed a new Group Health & Safety Manager, reporting to the Managing Director of the Services Division.
Table 1 - Health & Safety Statistics
Accident Reporting
| 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | |
| Average total employees in Group (FTE) | 5,502 | 6,146 | 7,124 | 7,664 |
| | ||||
| Employees involved in accidents | 252 | 273 | 359 | 409 |
| - Publishing | 3.5% | 3.2% | 3.9% | 3.8% |
| - Printing | 17.0% | 15.7% | 14.4% | 17.8% |
| - Total | 4.6% | 4.4% | 5.0% | 5.3% |
| | ||||
| Employees with RIDDOR reportable accidents | 33 | 30 | 44 | 38 |
| - Publishing | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| - Printing | 2.7% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.5% |
| - Total | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| Total working days lost through accidents | 533 | 881 | 1,197 | 718 |
Our consistent reporting processes have now been in place for more than six years allowing performance over time to be measured. These procedures ensure that every accident is reported and this reporting is a key part of our control environment. It should, however, be noted that the vast majority of these are not reportable under RIDDOR requirements.
Given our focus on health and safety, it was disappointing that our accident rate increased in 2010 (although the overall number of accidents was down). In part, this is a product of an ever greater focus on reporting but it is clear that the Group must do more to tackle the causes of the accident rate with RIDDOR reportable incidents involving an absence of three days or more increasing from 23 to 27. The new Group Health & Safety Manager will have responsibility for addressing this issue.
The Group has maintained campaigns in the workplace to reinforce the dangers relating to slips and trips and manual handling accidents to try to continually improve working practices and safety performance. The Group Health & Safety Committee has also started inviting companies with leading health and safety performance to attend its meetings to learn from their experiences and share best practice. In addition, there is a rolling programme of independent audits covering property and health and safety risks. These are targeted at the locations which have the highest risk profile along with a sample of other sites.
Total working days lost again reduced sharply in 2010 continuing the trend since 2008 and remained well below the national average.
Employee Involvement
Employees
We employ over 5,900 employees in the UK and Republic of Ireland and our aim is to attract, retain and engage the best people in a challenging and supportive culture that drives business performance.
Employment Policies
Our expectations in terms of managers’ and employees’ behaviour and standards are set out in our Value Statements, Personnel Policies & Procedures, Employee Handbook, Codes of Conduct and Contracts of Employment. Our grievance and whistleblowing procedures also allow any employee to report behaviour that is contrary to our policies or is in any way concerning to them.
Employee Representation
We recognise a number of trade unions at a subsidiary level in both the UK and in the Republic of Ireland. We also have employee forums at a Group and subsidiary level for the purposes of communication and consultation.
Diversity
The Group recognises that a diverse workforce adds clear value to our employees, our customers, our shareholders and the communities we serve. We fully support the principle of equal opportunity for all and oppose all forms of illegal and unfair discrimination.
Learning & Development
In 2010, approximately 1,000 programmes covering all aspects of our business including Advertising, Editorial, Digital Media, Newspaper Sales, Finance, Health & Safety, IT and HR were delivered. In particular, we invested heavily in editorial programmes related to the roll-out of our new Content Management System which is now used throughout the Group with around 1,800 editorial staff attending workshops which were supplemented with on-site support.
Identifying and developing leadership talent at all levels, as well as succession planning, will continue to be a priority. In support of this we are revising our long-established managerial and leadership development programmes.
Reward & Recognition
Our subsidiary businesses have differing pay structures based on the size of their organisation and local market conditions. Progression within these pay structures is based on competence, achievement of qualifications and performance. We also operate bonus schemes for executive and sales staff. A Free Share award under the Company’s Share Incentive Plan was made in respect of 2010.
Disability Access
Our Disability Access policy is included in our Personnel Policies and Procedures manual. As part of our ongoing property and health and safety audits we continually review the provisions made at all of our locations to ensure that we do not discriminate (in terms of access) against disabled employees or customers. We also ensure that any refurbishment or upgrading to our premises, where practical, takes into account the need to enhance access for all of our disabled stakeholders.
Reflecting the importance of our digital publishing activities, the Group continues to make improvements to its core internet sites in accordance with WCAG 2.0 accessibility standards, in line with W3C recommendations. As we continue to implement improvements, the level of support for our users accessing our sites via screen readers will advance.
Campaigns
Our newspapers and websites cemented their positions at the hearts of their communities with a wide range of hard-hitting editorial campaigns.
They targeted issues that were hugely important to readers, including domestic violence, poverty and deprivation, green projects, unemployment, better transport and parking, road safety, pensioners’ wellbeing, improving broadband connections and recognition for war-time efforts.
Publications also variously fought to save hospital, health and hospice services, to retain local services such as libraries and fire stations, to support local industries and to obtain better sports facilities.
Case study: Save Our Pier – Hastings Observer’s campaign to see the disused and rotting Hastings Pier brought back to life
The Hastings Observer launched a campaign in June 2010 to bring Hastings Pier back to life after it had lain disused for several years. Research showed the town had missed out on an estimated 750,000 visitors and millions of pounds in tourism income while it was disused.
The aim was to persuade the council, which was against renovation, to change its mind. Thousands of signatures were obtained for a petition and the paper printed full page copies of Save Our Pier posters which were displayed in windows and cars. The council was urged to secure a compulsory purchase order from the current owners and hand over the pier to the Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust.
As pressure mounted, the council agreed to start compulsory purchase and conceded a study into the viability of renovation ... and then came the devastating fire in October that destroyed 90 per cent of the historic pier and saw pictures of Hastings on national and world television.
The Observer won plaudits for its coverage of the blaze but, more importantly, it refused to give up its campaign, capturing perfectly the sentiment of Hastings people who did not want to admit defeat.
From the ashes has grown a campaign with renewed vigour. By the end of 2010 six awardwinning firms of architects had been interviewed for the task of redesigning the pier. On the panel was the Observer’s editor in-chief, Keith Ridley.
The campaign rolls into 2011 with the aim of reopening a modern pier in 2013 providing the Trust can secure millions of pounds of funding. The Observer remains firmly committed to the goal.
Fundraising
Raising funds and encouraging readers to support local causes is a key objective for our newspapers and websites and 2010 proved an exceptionally successful year despite the tough economic climate.
In addition to the traditional support and coverage for Sport Relief, Comic Relief and Children in Need, our titles raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for a huge range of community facilities, charities and health
services, and for projects to create jobs and carry out conservation work on historic landmarks.
Case study: £2.7 million raised to save Dutch masterpiece for the nation
A Yorkshire Post campaign to keep an Old Master on English shores captured the interest of thousands of people who helped raise the £2.7 million needed for the National Trust to buy the masterpiece from its private owners.
Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s stunning 1602 painting The Procession to Calvary was at risk of being taken out of Yorkshire where it had been on display at Nostell Priory, near Wakefield, for more than two centuries and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The Yorkshire Post championed the drive to ensure the painting could stay on public display and not, in the worst case scenario, leave the country.
Other Johnston Press titles in Yorkshire provided additional coverage and members of the public, many of whom had seen the Old Master on display, contributed generously.
The final £1 million came from a National Heritage Memorial Fund grant and by the end of 2010 the painting had been purchased. It will once again be on display at Nostell Priory.
Peter Charlton, Editor of the Yorkshire Post, said: “This was an unusual campaign for the Yorkshire Post but the masterpiece had been associated with the region for more than 200 years and certainly caught our readers’ imagination. As the region’s paper, we thought such a remarkable painting should not be lost to the county - let alone the nation.
“We were able to raise the profile of the campaign with the result that no less than £680,000 of the £2.7 million raised was donated by members of the public. It was a tremendous achievement particularly given the economic climate. As a newspaper, we are proud to have played a part in saving a major piece of art work from being sold overseas.”
Community Involvement
Johnston Press newspapers and websites excel at engaging with their readers and 2010 was no exception. Awards ceremonies recognising a wealth of individual and group achievements are held in virtually every community we serve, covering unsung heroes, children, volunteers, business, environment, energy, theatre, commitment to community, and sport.
We’re heavily involved with schools and encouraging young people to interact with their local newspaper through projects, visits and creating advertisements and pages for actual publication.
We provide people with a forum for airing their views, with opportunities to meet politicians and other decision-makers and with the chance to shape their own newspapers and websites through reader panels.
Case study: The big red sofa – reaching out to the public in the Kettering area
Kettering Evening Telegraph editor Jeremy Clifford used a big red sofa as part of a campaign to enhance the role of the newspaper and its reporters in local communities. He hired it to place in shopping centres for “Meet the Editor” days when streams of people came to sit on the sofa and discuss issues with Jeremy and other key people including the company’s MD and local politicians.
Jeremy said: “It was a bit like being Parky for the day. Interviewing people but also bringing members of the public into contact with people they would not normally meet or talk to. One old lady met the editor and the mayor of the town - she went away saying we had made her day. The best feedback we had was people just wanting to come and talk to me about what they thought about their community and what they would like to see improved.”
Readers were also invited to attend weekly surgeries with reporters in a variety of public places and to share their views of their newspaper and community and how they’d like to see them improve or grow.
Breaking News Before the Nationals
Our daily and weekly titles continue to lead the way breaking news before the national media and keeping our readers instantly in touch with the headlines via continuously updated websites.
Many of our exclusives and reports are followed up by national and international media and we take pride in striving to be the first to tell our readers what they need to know.
Case study: Forgemasters loan U-turn in Sheffield
The Sheffield Star was the first to highlight the highly controversial Forgemasters loan issue. The newspaper led with the story that the new Coalition government had backed out of an £80 million loan, which would have enabled the iconic steel firm to re-tool to produce parts for the nuclear power industry.
The story was picked up by the national press and the issue became and remains a major problem for Sheffield MP and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
Customer Services
It is Group policy to provide the highest standard of service to all of our customers. Each operating company has staff appointed to respond to all customer enquiries. There are strict procedures for resolving customer complaints or queries regarding service and these are carefully monitored by management.
Local management in each operation are responsible for ensuring that their companies and all their employees comply with the requirements of all customer and competition related legislation. To monitor this, and for training purposes, the Group undertakes “mystery shopping” exercises.
With the consolidation of our regionalised call centres, the Group is striving to increase the levels of response, professionalism and overall experience for our customers.
We have also commissioned independent audits of our customer services in an effort to drive continual improvement. The Group Sales Charter introduced in 2004 has become enshrined in our operations to ensure that our customers and advertisers are always dealt with in a fair and equitable manner; our terms of trade are published in the Group’s newspapers as well as being linked to all of the Group’s websites. Equal attention is paid to the service that we provide to our readers and viewers with each editor directly responsible for any complaints. The Editorial Review Group, a body of senior Group editors, also meets regularly to discuss editorial policy and issues related to content. The Group also conforms to the Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice.
Major awards won in 2010
Best Daily Newspaper: Yorkshire Post
Scoop of the Year: Rob Waugh, Yorkshire Post
Photographer of the Year: Ian Robinson, Lancashire Evening Post
Our journalists won a number of awards during the year.
Scottish Press Awards
Sports Features Writer of the Year - Tom English, Scotland on Sunday
Magazine Writer of the Year - Catherine Deveney, Scotland on Sunday
Young Journalist of the Year - Victoria Raimes, Edinburgh Evening News
News Photographer of the Year - Jane Barlow, The Scotsman
Cartoonist of the Year - Brian Adcock, Scotland on Sunday
Multimedia Journalist of the Year - Nick Mitchell, Scotsman.com
O2 Media Awards (Yorkshire & Humber)
Best Daily Newspaper - Yorkshire Post
Best Overall Newspaper - Yorkshire Post
Scoop of the Year - Rob Waugh, Yorkshire Post
Young Journalist of the Year - Kate Mason, Doncaster Free Press
O2 Media Awards (Northwest)
Young Journalist of the Year - Natalie Banks, Chorley Guardian
Photographer of the Year - Ian Robinson, Lancashire Evening Post
Digital Journalist of the Year - Will Watt, Blackpool Gazette
NUJ Regional Press Awards
Newspaper of the Year - The News, Portsmouth
Multimedia Journalist of the Year - Sion Donovan, The News, Portsmouth
Sports Journalist of the Year Neil Allen, The News, Portsmouth
Designer of the Year - Graeme Windell, The News, Portsmouth
Feature Writer of the Year (Daily & Sunday) - Jayne Dawson, Yorkshire Evening Post
Midlands Media Awards
Weekly Photographer of the Year - Angela Ward, Mansfield Chad
EDF Energy London & South of England Media Awards
Sports Journalist of the Year - Neil Allen, The News, Portsmouth
Designer of the Year - Pete Gavan, The News, Portsmouth
A number of awards were presented to our newspapers by the communities they serve.
Sunderland Echo: RNLI’s regional winner of the 2010 Supporters Awards for its Launch a Lifesaver fund-raising campaign which raised £15,000 to train a volunteer lifeboat recruit for a year
Northumberland Gazette: The office in Alnwick won the best business in the Northeast in the Northumbria in Bloom competition
Scarborough Evening News: Top Media Coverage award from Yorkshire Air Ambulance
The News Letter, Belfast: Regional winner of the Royal British Legion’s Friends of the Forces Awards
Derry Journal: Irish Road Safety Authority’s ‘Leading Lights’ award
Rutland & Stamford Mercury: Rotary Club of Stamford Service Recognition Award
Grantham Journal: Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow award (highest award in Rotary); Education Business Partnership
Environmental
The Group acknowledges that the protection of the environment is one of its key corporate responsibilities. We aim to comply with all relevant regulations and see the identification, management and control of environmental risks as being an implicit requirement for adherence to the Combined Code on Corporate Governance and the responsibilities of Directors.
Case study: Achieving Carbon Trust Standard Certification
The Company achieved Carbon Trust Standard Certification last year which is a national recognition of our efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions across the business.
Crucially, the certification is for the entire business - not just one or two premises – something considered a significant achievement in the industry.
Energy management consultant Trevor Brown, who has worked with the Group for 10 years, said it would have been relatively easy to achieve the Standard at, for example, two of the bigger printing sites, but the objective was to be certified across the whole organisation.
It was a daunting task and involved an intensive period of review and documentation, covering three years worth of historical energy data before the certification was awarded. Trevor describes the result as “an Olympic gold for JP” and one that was only made possible with full support from within the Group.
The Company achieved an overall ‘pass mark’ of 74 per cent: the required rate is 60 per cent.
A number of energy-efficiency steps were taken, including replacing standard light fittings with low energy ones in press halls and offices, switching to ‘smart’ plugs which use less electricity, upgrading gas boilers and installing sensor lighting in appropriate areas and time clocks on vending machines to switch them off when offices are empty.
The reduction in carbon dioxide emissions for the audited period was over 15% equating to 6,970 tonnes of CO2. A significant amount of this reduction can be directly attributed to energy efficiency projects implemented by the Group and supported by the Carbon Footprint Taskforce initiatives.
Energy and Climate Change
Climate reduction requirements implemented in the UK this year will force companies to forecast how much carbon dioxide they will produce. Those achieving Carbon Trust Standard Certification and who adopt automatic meter reading attain higher placings in the expected league tables, and Johnston Press is now positioned to perform well.
A rolling programme of internal audits of environmental impacts and risks is conducted throughout the year. Additionally audits by external independent consultants have continued in order to verify the findings of these internal reviews.
The Group has benefitted from its investment in more energy efficient equipment as well as the time and effort put into the monitoring and control of energy consumption. It has enabled the Group to continue to benefit from rebates against the Climate Change Levy Tax as well as targeting sites where base load consumption levels are not showing required reductions and subjecting them to detailed audits.
Table 2 below summarises the consumption of energy.
Budgets for 2011 encompass further year-on-year improvements and new longer term targets will be set by the Carbon Footprint Taskforce in conjunction with our external advisers.
We have also continued to make progress on reducing the Group’s car and van fleet and CO2 ratings. Although the size of the fleet grew, the replacement vehicles generally had lower CO2 ratings, giving an average reduction of 3.7%. Full details are shown in table 3.
Table 2 - Consumption of Energy
| 2010 | 2009 | % | 2008 | % | |
| Electricity | |||||
| - kWh | 42,589,773 | 49,362,652 | (13.7) | 55,505,620 | (11.1) |
| -print centres kWh/tonne | 143.1 | 160.0 | (10.6) | 171.9 | (6.9) |
| Gas | |||||
| - kWh | 23,911,427 | 24,213,684 | (1.2) | 28,309,064 | (14.5) |
| - print centres kWh/tonne | 37.0 | 51.6 | (28.3) | 62.6 | (17.6) |
| Water | |||||
| - m3 | 94,116 | 85,598 | 10.0 | 104,379 | (18.0) |
| - print centres m3/tonne | 0.37 | 0.27 | 37.0 | 0.34 | (25.9) |
Newsprint
Since 1991 the industry, through the Newspaper Society, has agreed targets with the Government on the recycled content of British newspapers. The targets were recently restated in consultation with the Government to make the definition more meaningful to the actual process of waste collection, de-inking and the conversion to 100% recycled newsprint. In 2009 the recycled content of UK newspapers was 76.2%. Johnston Press sources over 80% of its newsprint supply from 100% recycled suppliers.
Emissions to Air
The Group decommissioned its last heatset press during 2009, along with its oxidiser unit which continued to remove pollutants with an efficiency of 99.6% up until the press was shutdown. As a consequence, the Group had no emissions to air in 2010.
Waste
Water and solvents continue to be cleaned and recycled on site wherever possible. The Group’s largest production facility at Dinnington near Sheffield continues to be classed as a low water user by the local Environmental Agency.
The Group continued its relationship with two industry leading waste partners and remains committed to optimise the recycling of waste streams through waste management and segregation. All paper waste is returned to paper mills for recycling, and is used in the production of new paper based products. The aluminium printing plates are returned to their raw material state for many uses. Cardboard, plastic and wooden packaging is cleaned and converted into animal bedding, plastic piping and woodchip landscaping. All chemical waste is treated through audited and certificated waste processes and where possible any oil based residue is separated and converted into fuel.
Table 3 - Motor Vehicle Data
| 2010 | 2009 | % | 2008 | % | 2007 | % | 2006 | % | |
| Total Fleet (No of vehicles) | 1,701 | 1,631 | 4.3 | 1,811 | (9.9) | 2,057 | (12.0) | 2,109 | (2.5) |
| Total Fleet CO2 rating | 267,715 | 265,321 | 0.9 | 296,425 | (10.5) | 338,154 | (12.3) | 355,145 | (4.8) |
| Average CO2 rating | 157 | 163 | (3.7) | 164 | (0.6) | 164 | (0.7) | 168 | (2.4) |
Environmental Policy
The Group’s environmental policy is to ensure that every aspect of our activities is conducted in accordance with sound environmental practices.
Johnston Press aims to foster among its staff, suppliers, customers, shareholders, other stakeholders and communities local to its operations an understanding of environmental issues in the context of its business. Our collective task is to ensure that we continually improve the environmental impact of our activities.
Carbon Footprint
The Group established its Carbon Footprint Taskforce in 2008. This taskforce developed the
Group’s environmental policy and is responsible for co-ordinating the Group’s activities in this area.
The aims of the Carbon Footprint Taskforce are as follows:
- Establish Group policy and objectives
- Promote the general aims of “reduce, reuse, recycle”
- Work through the established Employee Forums
- Co-ordinate Group wide initiatives
- Agree, under the auspices of the Newspaper Society, a standard method of measuring the Carbon Footprint (Scope 2) and seek to reduce this (base year 2006) by 25% over the next 5 years
- Run an annual Group Environmental Award
The Group continues to work in partnership with Dell, its principal supplier of IT equipment, to develop a disposal channel for redundant IT equipment.
Shareholders
Members of the Board have met a number of shareholders during the past year to discuss Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility matters and to address any questions raised by them.