Mission Statement

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.

Energy Policy

Our energy policy is reviewed to ensure it remains suitable for the Group and revised when necessary.

In recognition of the heightened awareness of the environmental impact of energy consumption, the cost of supply, and the dependence of the organisation on the continuity of supply, the Group has adopted the following energy policy.

Principles 

1. The Group is committed to reducing its like-for-like (allowing for acquisitions and disposals) consumption of energy. This will be measured by comparing the units of energy consumed (Kwh) divided by the throughput of tonnes of newsprint, as this is the best measurement of activity available to the Group.
2. The Group will seek to minimise the risk of discontinuity in supply by ensuring that certifications, inspections, and maintenance are performed in a timely and professional way.
3. The responsibility for the management of energy consumption rest with every operating company of the Group irrespective of consumption levels.

Reduction of Consumption 

There are a number of ways in which we will seek to reduce the consumption of energy:

1. Introduce monitoring and control systems at those sites which are the largest consumers of energy.
2. Purchase energy-efficient equipment when economically viable in all areas of capital expenditure.
3. Perform energy-efficiency reviews at our major sites using suitably qualified independent energy consultants who will produce an action plan which will then be the responsibility of the local site to implement.
4. Increase awareness at the local management level through the divisional managing directors and having a local manager responsible for the monitoring and control of energy usage. This will be particularly relevant to the smaller publishing sites where thee will be limited monitoring or equipment purchases.

Target 

As a group we have set targets for reducing energy consumption. Our original aim was to reduce our consumption of energy on a like-for-like basis by 7% between 2003 and 2010. Between 2003 and 2006 we achieved an 18% reduction in terms of kwh and the Group set a new target to reduce energy consumption by a further 10% over 2007 to 2010. This target was exceeded in 2009 when our consumption was 17.1% below 2006. New longer term targets are being set by our Carbon Footprint Taskforce.