Publishing group launches carbon calculator

The Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) has developed a Carbon Calculator that allows publishers to calculate the carbon footprint of a title and to understand the impact of each part of the magazine production process.

Sally Cartwright, director at large at Hello Magazine, will be presenting the PPA Carbon Calculator during the Sustainability in Practice breakout session at the FIPP World Magazine Congress in London on 5 May. Also on hand will be Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group, and Peter Phippen, managing director, BBC Magazines & Chairman, PPA.

The PPA Carbon Calculator has been in development for more than two years with PPA’s Carbon Footprint Working Group. The tool is based upon analysis from Edge in collaboration with industry partners BPIF, The Paper Profile Secretariat, Menzies and Polestar.

The Carbon Calculator is accessed through a “switchboard” that allows users to create a profile of their publication and calculate their carbon footprint. The results are then presented both as the total carbon footprint of a title and also by copy.

All of the supply chain stages for a magazine including the production of raw materials, printing, finishing and supply and distribution have been included in the calculator.

The baseline data and systems behind the calculator were externally reviewed by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management, and the project will be continually maintained and enhanced to enable it to respond to user requirements and sector-wide developments.

PPA is the first trade association to allow its publisher members to calculate the carbon footprint of individual titles and to understand the impact of each part of the production process.

“Environmental concerns and sustainability are close to the heart of magazine publishers,” said Jonathan Shephard, CEO of PPA. “The PPA carbon footprint calculator uses complex systems to give publishers a classically simple result, which they can apply to their business.”