Sustainable Business

Resources Paper & Publishing 2/4 emissions by around 20-25%. Simply from the amount of paper that we now consume and distribute," says Bloomberg's sustainability manager Lee Ballin. The weekly publication, that in 2010 had an average circulation of 917,000, added 45,487 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent to Bloomberg's emissions calculations. Now, with a total global distribution of almost 60 million magazines and consumption of 23 million pounds of paper per year, Bloomberg's paper choices are having a very direct impact on the environment and the business. In fact, paper currently represents 16% of Bloomberg's carbon emissions. So where does a global publishing company with a substantial paper footprint start? Although many argue that physical reading material is being replaced by digital platforms, Bloomberg asserts that paper remains the communication vehicle of choice for a majority of the company's readers and therefore its strategy begins by encouraging the recycling of its products. Establishing its intentions further, the firm is also partnering with vendors on projects that achieve sustainability goals and by using paper with recycled fibre "when it meets quality and cost requirements". But, most importantly, ving money. It isn't just sa ef fi ci en cy B lo om b erg 's p ed th e h el m ea su re s ve it s p any ach ie et in co m n targ CO2 reductio d of o years ahea 2011, tw impressive schedule - an r fu tu re fo b en ch m ar k targets. the purchasing of Forest Stewardship Council certified (FSC-certified) paper, the most recognised standard on the market, is a must in achieving sustainability. Ballin says that following the acquisition of Businessweek in December 2009, the company quickly moved its paper over to FSC-certified paper for this very reason. Although an essential move in terms of sustainability, it resulted in a paper weight increase, which instantly raised emissions by 21% per issue. This has since prompted research into how the company can utilise 100% recycled content paper to mitigate the weight issues. "We are very confident that by continuous collaboration and an open dialogue amongst our suppliers that we will find a way to print Bloomberg Businessweek on 100% recycled content paper," stresses Ballin. "We believe we have a tremendous opportunity to reduce our emissions and we calculated that for every 10% of recycled content that we can incorporate into our magazines we will achieve a 6% reduction in emissions associated with our paper," he adds. Upping the ante, this focus has been transferred internally. For example, Bloomberg's Asian offices successfully increased the recycled content of its office paper from 20% to 77% in 2012. And globally, the company's offices now utilise 52% of recycled content in office paper, while 81% of office paper is FSC-certified. At year-end 2012, Bloomberg had almost 16,000 employees working in

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