News Corp Australia changes climate targets amid editorial line scrutiny

NEW YORK / SYDNEY, October 1 (Reuters) – The Australian branch of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (NWSA.O) has set new environmental goals, an internal email showed, boosting employee engagement on climate issues as it prepares an editorial campaign calling for lower carbon emissions.

The new targets, which have not been officially announced, build on previous targets for News Corp’s Australian unit, but reflect a company refining its green credentials inside and out in a market where it has been heavily criticized for its coverage of climate-related issues. problems.

“News Corp Australia has indeed continuously reduced its carbon emissions over the past 5 years, with an average reduction of 7.4% per year over that period,” a News Corp Australia spokesperson said in an e- mail.

With this success, he said, “we have now set ambitious new goals which we are confident are meaningful and achievable.”

After a few commentators from News Corp and Fox News, which is owned by Fox Corp, controlled by Murdoch (FOXA.O), questioned the role of global warming in the Australian bushfires in 2019 and 2020, Murdoch’s son James left News Corp’s board citing editorial differences, while other members of staff in the country have made public complaints about its climate coverage.

Operations in Australia were responsible for 62% of News Corp’s carbon emissions worldwide in FY2020, according to News Corp’s “carbon footprint” report, which indicates that News Corp’s emissions have decreased by 7% from the previous year.

“We are reimagining and strengthening our 1 degree environmental program and urging everyone at News Corp Australia to get involved,” the September 27 email seen by Reuters said, referring to a corporate campaign by 2007 to raise awareness of sustainable development practices. .

The new goals “align with the goals agreed upon by our colleagues at News Corp around the world,” added the email to the company’s 8,000 Australian employees, signed by the country’s CEO Michael Miller and the Community Ambassador Penny Fowler.

The new measures, as outlined in the email, appear to reflect the goals already set by News Corp globally, while updating the environmental goals that were last set by the Australian unit. in 2017.

A target already set by the parent company but new to News Corp Australia, according to the email, is to reduce emissions in the company’s supply chain by 20% by 2030. Another is to achieve zero waste to landfill at its main sites by 2025, with particular emphasis on reducing single-use plastic.

The email also sets a timeline for News Corp Australia to source 100% newsprint from certified materials – by 2025 – and to reduce the company’s carbon footprint by 60% of by 2030.

The Australian unit is planning a public editorial campaign to coincide with the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this month to “educate Australians on key environmental and climate issues,” according to a report from the Australian.

The editorial campaign would push Australia to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in line with a previously stated News Corp target, and would mostly take place in its major metro tabloids like the Sydney Daily Telegraph and the Herald Melbourne Sun, media reports. .

Reporting by Helen Coster in New York and Byron Kaye in Sydney. Editing by Kenneth Li, Peter Henderson and Angus MacSwan

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