DMGT and Corporate Responsibility
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- DMGT DONATED £946,000 TO CHARITY IN 2008
- THE GROUP’S CARBON FOOTPRINT REDUCED TO 118,200 TONNES
- ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW CSR COMMITTEE
INTRODUCTION
DMGT’s activities are global and diverse, operated through a large number of separate businesses. Each business provides important channels of communication and media focus to different sections of society throughout the world.
The Group owes much of its success to the entrepreneurial ability of the management teams leading its businesses. These businesses have thrived by allowing local management to take local decisions in a local context, while benefiting from the global outlook and financial resources of the wider Group.
The success of many of DMGT’s businesses is inextricably linked to understanding and engaging with the communities they serve, and this allows them to identify needs and to campaign effectively on the issues relevant to their customer base. This approach has delivered benefits to a broad range of stakeholders.
THE AIM OF THIS REPORT
The following report provides more detail of divisional activities focused around key impact areas of corporate responsibility (CR):
- the environment
- our readers, viewers and listeners
- the community
- our employees.
Reported here is a summary of our disclosure in this area. There is a dedicated section on the Group website, www.dmgt.co.uk, with further information available that is updated regularly.
We welcome your feedback. Please send any comments to: investor.relations@dmgt.co.uk.
Responsibility in this area was transferred during the year from the Risk Committee to a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sub-committee of the Board which is now the forum at which CR is discussed. The Committee’s remit is to oversee the Group’s environmental, customer, community and employee practices. The Board has policies in place on equal opportunities, whistle-blowing, health and safety and the environment. Overall responsibility for CR at Board level lies with the Finance Director.
DMGT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Our main focus is on how we manage the impact of our eight printing presses in the UK and two presses in Hungary, where the key environmental impacts are waste generation (particularly waste newsprint), energy use, ink use, water and paper purchasing.
All printing centres have environmental management policies. The use of energy, newsprint, ink and plates and waste disposal have cost implications and are, therefore, managed for reasons of good business sense, as well as to reduce their environmental impact.
The direct environmental impacts from our mostly office-based divisions are relatively low. Our offices around the world practise paper recycling, and nearly all office paper waste at DMGT headquarters is recycled. There are also schemes in place for the recycling of plastic, glass, toner cartridges, mobile phones and IT equipment.
EFFICIENCY
The introduction of a cutting edge production facility in Didcot has improved the Group’s efficiency in energy. The increased colour capability has led to additional colour pages being available to the readers of our papers, although this capability increases energy use. The Group is continually reviewing its production assets and this has led to the closure of the print centre in Staverton and to consultation with the staff over the closure of the print centre in Grimsby. The Group continues to make all reasonable endeavours to maximise energy efficiency and to minimise its affect on the environment.
WASTE
Newsprint production waste, as a percentage of total newspaper output, has risen this year by 0.17%. Newsprint production waste continues to be an ongoing area of focus. Waste newsprint and ink use is measured and reported to divisional board meetings on a monthly basis.
Targets for waste paper are set for each product printed. This percentage varies according to certain criteria, such as the numbers of copies required and edition changes. Actual waste volumes are compared against budgeted levels, with the results provided for monthly review at the appropriate Board level.
100% of production paper waste is recycled.
SOURCING
DMGT is aware of the responsibility it has along the supply chain, in particular for one of its largest purchases: newsprint. The Group has a central Newsprint Committee, allowing co-ordinated review of the environmental credentials of paper suppliers and the sourcing of their products.
Where virgin fibres are used in the paper manufacture, DMGT requires that the forests are certified either by the Forest Stewardship Council or the Pan European Forestry Commission, both of which run schemes that provide credible guarantees that the product comes from well managed forests.
DMGT sources its paper mainly from European mills, most of which hold the environmental management standard ISO14001. 98% of virgin fibre products are sourced from managed forests.
DMGT’S CARBON FOOTPRINT
Since 2007, DMGT has employed ICF International to carry out a Carbon Footprint Analysis across the whole Group. They have focused on every facility within the Group, as well as delivery activities and business travel, gathering data since 2006. This year they calculated that the Group’s Carbon Footprint was 118,235 tonnes (2007 118,579), a decrease of 344 tonnes. Having identified the Group’s Carbon Footprint, we have embarked upon a strategy for its reduction. At the first meeting of the CSR Committee, it was decided that the Group would commit to reducing its Footprint by 10% from the baseline year of 2007 by the end of 2012.
OUR READERS, VIEWERS AND LISTENERS
Editorial StandardsThere are a number of standard setting bodies that have established codes to which DMGT’s consumer media divisions adhere.
The main code for the Group’s UK newspapers is established and monitored by the Press Complaints Commission. The newspapers also adhere to the Code of Practice of Newspaper and Magazine Publishing. Teletext works to the standards set by Ofcom and its Editorial Code of Practice which covers current broadcasting legislation, while DMG Radio complies with the Australian Communications and Media Authority Codes of Conduct and the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice and Broadcasting Services Act.
Responding to reader, viewer and listener needsRemaining in touch with the diverse groups who make up our communities and reflecting and championing their interests is critical to DMGT’s success.
Reader, viewer and listener satisfaction is monitored in a number of ways, including timely responses to complaints, regular in-house programming and sales research, readership surveys and other processes to receive feedback actively from customers.
Within the established editorial framework, editors and journalists have the freedom to operate as appropriate. Compliance with editorial standards is strictly monitored within the divisions in various ways, which include compliance committees, editorial responsibility, compliance audits and training.
DMGT AND THE COMMUNITY
Community involvement is integral to our business as well as to the personal motivation of our employees. We donate money, time and in-kind donations such as radio airtime and Teletext pages, and staff actively give time to areas including fundraising and trusteeships.
In 2008, the Group donated £946,000 to charity.
The use of media channels and activities for fundraising is driven through participation in the communities we serve and the concerns and contributions of our readers, viewers and listeners.
Group charitable donations are allocated by a Charities Committee at DMGT, as well as being made on a smaller scale by divisional and local management. The Committee prefers to make donations to media and local charities where there is an employee representative who will sponsor and report back on the impact the allocation has had.
DMGT AND OUR EMPLOYEES
DMGT Group is an equal opportunities employer. In addition to a Group policy, many divisions have their own policies and practices across a range of employee issues. Training is taken seriously across the Group.
INTERNAL COMMUNUNICATION
A variety of approaches to staff communications exist within the Group, including:
- the Group extranet;
- regular communication events;
- face-to-face communications with management;
- programmes related to specific key events (such as major changes in operations or equipment);
- a Group intranet, DMGT Connect, that was launched in November 2007.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
A health and safety policy applies across DMGT and sets out to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees and all others who could be affected by the activities of the Group.
There are many examples of good practice across the Group, in terms of health and safety management systems, the use of independent consultants and initiatives focused on business-specific health and safety risk areas.
Health and safety is particularly critical in all printing press facilities, which have appropriate policies and management and monitoring programmes.
The Group has had no fines or prosecutions for health and safety failures over the last year.
While the Chief Executive has overall responsibility at Board level for health and safety matters throughout the Group, day-to-day responsibility is devolved to the managing directors of each division.