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Launch of "Timestars"
In partnership with the Media Trust, Teletext
donates pages to highlight the work of charities and community
volunteers. |
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The DMGT
Group owes much of its success to the entrepreneurial ability of
the management teams leading its various media divisions. The businesses
have thrived by allowing local management to take local decisions
in a local context, whilst benefiting from the global outlook as
well as from the financial resources of the wider Group.
This approach has delivered benefits to a wide range of stakeholders.
The success of many of the Group's businesses is inextricably linked
with understanding and engaging with the communities that they serve,
and this allows them to identify needs and to campaign effectively
on the issues relevant to their customer base. This principle is
as relevant to the Daily Mail, serving the whole of the United Kingdom,
as to the North Devon Journal Herald, serving the population of
Barnstaple in Devon and to 6KG, one of our two radio stations serving
the remote mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
Last year we reported that we were undertaking an independent review
of our activities against emerging corporate social responsibility
best practice. At the same time, environmental and social matters
were adopted as one of the focus areas for the Group's Risk Committee.
Following these steps, there have been a number of actions taken,
for example:
- we have carried out a fundamental review of our health and
safety management processes. Many areas of good practice were
identified, and we are now developing a Corporate Health and
Safety Policy to add more consistency to the management and
measurement of our performance across the Group;
- we have strengthened the monitoring and internal reporting
of a number of our environmental impacts and this is covered
further below.
All of the Group's UK newspapers observe the Press Complaints Commission
Code of Practice. The Press Complaints Commission is an independent
organisation set up in 1991 to ensure that British newspapers and
magazines follow the letter and spirit of an ethical code dealing
with issues such as inaccuracy, privacy, misrepresentation and harassment.
The Commission adjudicates on complaints about possible breaches
of the code and gives general guidance on related ethical issues.
The code sets the benchmark for the professional and ethical standards
that all members of the press have a duty to maintain.
Environment
The Group's activities are diverse, with more than 18,000 employees
worldwide. Whilst managing environmental issues is the responsibility
of the management of individual businesses, we are starting to develop
a Corporate Environmental Policy to provide greater consistency
and visibility of environmental issues across the Group. Whilst
all businesses have an environmental impact, our efforts are concentrated
within Associated Newspapers and Northcliffe Newspapers, particularly
in respect of the printing operations (Associated Newspapers' main
plant at Harmsworth Quays and twelve Northcliffe plants), as these
generate the majority of our impact.
Management of environmental issues is fundamental to these operations
and includes a focus on energy and water consumption, and paper
use (and recycling), together with the consumption of inks and plates.
These issues are key components of the cost base of the businesses
and effective management practice has a direct impact on profitability.
During the year, an Energy Committee has been established with representatives
of both printing operations to facilitate sharing of best practice.
Harmsworth Quays, the largest single printing site in the Group,
has carried out a detailed environmental review of operations which
covered utilities, raw materials, effluent, solid waste and transport
issues.
Energy and water consumption at the printing operations is also
monitored and this has remained relatively static in comparison
with the previous financial year. Energy consumption has fallen
slightly (1%) to approximately 119,000MWh, whilst water consumption
has fallen by 2% to 202,400m3.
Greenhouse gas emissions are monitored too and are a key focus of
the UK's environmental strategy. The direct and indirect emissions
of CO2 from our printing operations were static in the year, reflecting
minor variations in the proportions of electricity and gas used
as energy sources. In the coming year we will be identifying more
formal environmental performance targets and improving the sharing
of best practice across our businesses. The Group has a central
Newsprint Committee and paper is purchased centrally for all of
the Group's newspaper operations, allowing coordinated review of
the environmental credentials of paper suppliers and the sourcing
of their products. A significant proportion of the newsprint purchased
by the Group incorporates recycled paper and, where virgin fibres
are used, these are sourced only from sustainable forestry. Both
Associated and Northcliffe pay particular attention to waste management
and performance in this area is reported monthly at the appropriate
Board level.
We are pleased to report that all our printing paper waste is recycled,
amounting to almost 28,000 tonnes in the current year.
Many of the Group's titles and products deal with subjects and campaign
on issues related to the environment.
DMGT
in the Community
The Group is a member of the Per Cent Club and annually pays a minimum
of 1/2% of its dividend to charity. Charitable donations are allocated
by a Charities Committee at DMGT, as well as being made on a smaller
scale by divisional and local managements.
Charities involving the media and relevant to the communities within
which the Group operates are favoured. Some examples of our involvement
during the year include:
- DMG Radio Australia - provides a A$5,000 scholarship to the
Charles Sturt University in Bathurst NSW. This is awarded yearly
to support the Communications degree course;
- Teletext - in November 2001, launched "Timestars" in joint
partnership with the Media Trust (a body which forges links
between charities and the Media). Teletext donates pages, which
are devoted to highlighting the work of charities and community
volunteers, and are updated by a dedicated journalist based
at the Media Trust. As well as the work of the general public,
the Timestar initiative looks at the role of showbusiness and
other celebrities involved in charity work, to encourage others
to follow their example. The business has received many favourable
comments on the impact of this initiative;
- Teletext - in January 2002, the business donated a page to
give details of the Disaster Emergency Committee appeal for
the victims of the volcanic eruption in the town of Goma in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, when up to 60,000 people were
forced to flee their homes.
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