One degree

The Perth Sunday Times, with a readership of around 850,000, is News Limited’s flagship newspaper in the West, printed at the modern Perth Print facilities. In the year to June 2007, the combined Sunday Times Perth Print carbon footprint was 7,153 tonnes.

Perth Print became a voluntary participant in the Federal Government’s Greenhouse Challenge Plus program in 2003. Improvements to lighting, air-conditioning, insulation and equipment upgrades are helping to reduce emissions, and planned double-glazing, airless strapping and reduction of electrical harmonics will add to the existing efficiency gains. Selected wins in 2007 have included a change in Building Management System, replacement of several petrol fuelled vehicles with lower emission diesel alternatives and the planting of 110 trees around the premier of the print site. Staff cycling events have also been supported to great success.

As part of News Limited’s extensive energy audit program, a detailed energy audit has been conducted at Perth Print to help identify energy efficiency opportunities for installation. Important preliminary outcomes from the audit include the installation of lighting occupancy control improvements and replacing all T8 fluorescent fittings with T5 light units.

At the Sunday Times, lower voltage lighting, new cooling towers, the replacement of energy-intensive CRT monitors with LCD monitors, and diesel forklifts with LPG have all begun to make a difference. Staff are being encouraged to cycle to work with the provision of bike racks, and the new building planned for the Sunday Times will be constructed to green principles, with every aspect of energy efficiency being a consideration in its construction. In 2007, the Sunday Times sponsored ‘The Climate Change and You’ Expo. The Sunday Times has also appointed a ‘One Degree’ writer to work across their Sunday Times and PerthNow publications.