CSR

The Board of Johnston Press has made a clear commitment to operating all of the Group’s business activities to the highest standards of business ethics and integrity. These principles are not only contained in the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility Statement but it is also policy to include them in contracts of employment.

Business Ethics
The code of ethics specifically requires adherence to all legal requirements. It has a clear policy and procedure for addressing issues such as bribery, corruption, conflicts of interest, espionage and the giving and receiving of gifts. The Group opposes all forms of oppression and is a supporter of all human rights.

The Group’s entire business is conducted in Europe, wholly in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

An acceptable use policy has been developed for all of the company’s assets including but not restricted to computer equipment, email facilities and use of the Internet. This policy is issued to employees with supporting guidance and is designed to protect both the employee and employer from misuse of assets.

The Group has the absolute objective of always acting as a fair and reasonable employer. We also acknowledge and are keenly aware of our responsibilities to the many communities we serve; our readers, customers, suppliers, shareholders, other stakeholders and to the environment. As a result of our key role in the community, a separate section is incorporated within this report detailing some of the many community orientated activities in which the Group’s companies are involved.

Health & Safety
The Group has rigorous Health & Safety management and reporting processes in place. Health & Safety is at the core of our operations, and is a specific item on all business agendas at the local, regional, Group and Board levels. There are Health & Safety Committees in every Group Company and the Chief Operating Officer chairs the Group Health & Safety Committee, which undertakes audit visits, sets Group policy, monitors compliance with those policies and spreads best practice.

Our consistent reporting processes have now been in place for more than five years allowing us to report some meaningful statistics and comparisons. Our reporting procedures ensure that every accident, including the most minor laceration or abrasion, is reported, and this reporting is a key part of our control environment. It should, however, be noted that the vast majority of these are not reportable under RIDDOR requirements.

As can be seen in table 1, 2009 was another year of progress across the Group in reducing the number of accidents. There has been a reduction in the number of employees involved in accidents in both our printing and publishing operations when
compared to 2008 and overall the percentage of employees involved in accidents reduced to 4.4%. This is our third consecutive year of improvements on these measures. Following improved categorisation of accident reporting in 2007, we know that 67%
of the total number of accidents recorded relate to slips, trips, falls, manual handling and bumps.

Table 1 - Health & Safety Statistics
Accident Reporting

This represents a slight increase in percentage terms (2008: 66%) although the total number of such incidents reduced. The year saw a reduction in the number of RIDDOR reportable accidents. The rate per employee has remained static across the past three years although this is due to the reduction in our workforce. Poster campaigns relating to the dangers of slips and trips and manual handling accidents were run which has heightened awareness, improved working practices and increased reporting on minor accidents.

Total working days lost reduced sharply in 2009 compared to 2008 and remained well below the national average.

The Group also has a rolling programme of independent audit visits covering property and Health & Safety risks. These visits are targeted at the locations which have the highest risk profile along with a sample of other sites. Detailed reports and recommendations are produced after each visit which require follow-up and implementation by local management. This process is monitored by the Group Management Board.

Employee Involvement
Employees
We employ over 6,000 employees in the UK and Republic of Ireland and this section of the report is about how we manage, develop and reward all of our people. Our aim is to attract, retain and engage the best people in a challenging and supportive culture that drives business performance.

Employment Policies
It is important that all of our managers and employees understand what is expected of them in terms of their behaviour and standards. This is set out in our Value Statements, Personnel Policies & Procedures, Employee Handbook, Codes of Conduct and Contracts of Employment. Our grievance and whistleblowing procedures also allow any employee to report behaviour that is contrary to our policies or is in any way concerning to them.

Employee Representation
All of our employees have the right to freedom of association and we recognise a number of trade unions at a subsidiary level in both the UK and in the Republic of Ireland. We also have employee forums at a Group and subsidiary level for the purposes of communication and consultation.

Diversity
The Group recognises that a diverse workforce adds clear value to our employees, our customers, our shareholders and the communities we serve. We fully support the principle of equal opportunity for all and oppose all forms of illegal and unfair
discrimination. All of our Personnel Policies & Procedures, practices and training programmes are regularly reviewed to ensure that they fully comply with the equality legislation in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Learning & Development
The growth of our people remains a priority and we continue to deliver a wide range of learning and development programmes. In 2009 we delivered over 1,000 programmes and in excess of 7,000 training days covering all aspects of our business including Advertising, Editorial, Digital Media, Newspaper Sales, Finance, Health & Safety, IT and HR. In particular we invested heavily in editorial programmes related to the roll out of our new content management system.

Identifying and developing leadership talent at all levels, as well as succession planning, will continue to be a priority. In support of this we developed and delivered a wide range of managerial and leadership development programmes over the course of the year.

Reward & Recognition
Our subsidiary businesses have differing pay structures based on the size of the organisation and local market conditions. Progression within these pay structures is based on competence, achievement of qualifications and performance. We also operate bonus schemes for executive and sales staff. Despite the extremely difficult trading conditions during the year, in recognition of the hard work and dedication of our staff a Free Share award was made in respect of 2009.

Disability Access
Our Disability Access policy is included in our Personnel Policies and Procedures manual. As part of our ongoing property and Health & Safety audits we continually review the provisions made at all of our locations to ensure that we do not discriminate, in terms of access, against disabled employees or customers. Solutions have been put in place involving modification, removal, avoidance or circumvention of potential barriers at all of our locations. We also ensure that any refurbishment or upgrading to our premises, where practical, takes into account the need to enhance access for all of our disabled stakeholders.

Reflecting the importance of our digital publishing activities, the Group develops its core internet sites to WAI single ‘A’ Standards. All pages are created using XHTML and CSS 2.0; this method provides support for our users accessing our sites via screen readers. All our newspaper sites have a sitemap that enables easy navigation on screen. The Group also supports the “Talking Newspapers” charity as one of its nominated charities.

Community Involvement and Fundraising
Our newspapers and websites were again at the forefront of a series of community campaigns and events – highlighting their close links with the areas they serve. They have also been responsible for fundraising for a wide variety of good causes.

A 15 year old boy in Northamptonshire underwent a bone marrow transplant after a successful search for a donor led by the Northampton Chronicle & Echo.
The Scarborough Evening News raised cash for a teenager with cerebral palsy and other health issues who needed specialist equipment. “Just for Taylor” was a campaign by the Hartlepool Mail to raise £10,000 for four year old Taylor Stallard who needed a motorised wheelchair. At Sunderland, the Echo’s readers pledged £21,500 in two weeks to give a mother of four suffering from cancer a life-prolonging drug. Staff at the Bourne Local backed fundraising to raise money for baby twins with a terminal illness.

The Blackpool Gazette’s “William’s Wish” appeal raised £2,500 in days to help a local disabled boy get specialist medical equipment. In Peterborough, the Evening Telegraph raised cash for equipment to help a youngster with breathing difficulties and, within three days, the Stamford Mercury collected £3,500 to buy an electric wheelchair for a disabled girl. Readers of our Isle of Man newspapers raised £20,000 for a young cancer sufferer.

On a number of occasions, our newspapers stood up to fight for the man in the street. In one of the more unusual campaigns, the Coleraine Times won a battle with bureaucracy to bring an electricity supply to the tiny seafront home of pensioner, John McCarter, who had lived without power for 27 years!

The hard work of volunteers was marked by the Harrogate Advertiser with its Volunteer Oscars awards scheme. The Edinburgh Evening News successfully campaigned for a Queen’s Gallantry Medal to be awarded to Ewan Williamson, the city fire-fighter who died in action at a blaze; the campaign culminated in a formal nomination by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Sheffield Star’s “Save a Life” scheme saw the paper working with health professionals to highlight major health issues.

The Doncaster Free Press and Worksop Guardian supported food parcel campaigns for British troops in Afghanistan, as did the Stamford Mercury and several other group titles. The Chorley Guardian conducted a “We salute you” campaign recognising the bravery of troops in Afghanistan. This theme was also picked up by several other titles.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Transport Minister Lord Adonis backed a Wakefield Express campaign for security improvements at a rail station after a brutal rape and numerous assaults. It resulted in improved arrangements being introduced. There was also Government backing for the Derbyshire Times in its bid to fight obesity in the county.

The Bucks Herald recruited Prince William to support a continuing campaign which will help fund flying experience for injured service personnel.

Two main supermarkets have agreed to label meat with detailed information on where the product is from - not where it is processed – as a result of a Yorkshire Post ‘Clearly British’ campaign. The paper highlighted a loophole in the law which allowed meat imported from overseas to be labelled British. Now the paper is pressing for a similar change for the hard-pressed dairy industry.

Blackpool Council’s leader ordered a review of spending after a Gazette campaign to expose the wasting of cash by public bodies. The South Yorkshire Times was at the forefront of a campaign for zero tolerance against violent offenders. The Portsmouth News worked with police to put the focus on burglaries and what readers could do to prevent them.

“March for Mansfield’s Heroes” is the title of a campaign spearheaded by the Chad newspaper to raise £20,000 for a permanent war memorial in the town in honour of servicemen and women. The Grantham Journal also campaigned for cash to build a war memorial.

The 10 year campaign by the West Sussex Gazette and West Sussex County Times for the South Downs to be designated a national park came to fruition with the Government’s decision to grant status. It resulted in a huge walk led by broadcaster
Ben Fogle, the President of the Campaign for National Parks.

Three trains a day will run directly between Halifax and London as a result of a campaign spearheaded by the Halifax Courier. The “Building a Better Brid” project run by the Bridlington Free Press set out to tackle seven social sins – violence, dog-fouling, vandalism, alcohol abuse, litter, yobbish behaviour and motoring offences like speeding and drinkdriving.

Other campaigns included The Londonderry Sentinel’s “Save our Cathedral” campaign which resulted in Government funding for St. Columb’s Cathedral being brought forward. The Ballymena Times joined a successful campaign to save Harryville Primary School from closure and the Dromore Leader and Larne Times joined the fight to save local nursing homes in their areas. Morecambe’s only theatre was saved after a campaign by the Morecambe Visitor.

A number of titles ran campaigns aimed at restoring the feel-good factor to their recession hit communities. These included the Wigan Observer, Yorkshire Evening Post, St Helens Reporter, Morley Observer & Advertiser, the Scarborough Evening News, Northumberland Echo, Mansfield Chad, Matlock Mercury, Ripon Gazette, Knaresborough Post, Wetherby News, Harrogate Advertiser, Boston Standard, Banbridge Leader, Lurgan Mail, Tyrone Times, Portadown Times, Luton News, Bedfordshire Times and Milton Keynes Citizen.

In Limerick, the Leader was at the heart of a campaign to help recovery after the closure of the Dell plant and the loss of 1,900 jobs.

At the same time our titles are quick to celebrate success. The Fife Free Press organised a champions day to mark Raith Rovers being presented with the Scottish Second Division trophy. The Kilkenny People was at the heart of celebrations to mark the city’s 400th birthday and the Tipperary Star celebrated its centenary with exhibitions and supplements.

The Sunderland Echo spearheaded “Keep Wearside Working” giving readers access to skills programmes to help them boost prospects of employment.

Plans to introduce parking charges in Pocklington were successfully opposed by a campaign led by the Post. The Burnley Express ran a high profile campaign against juvenile crime and anti social behaviour, resulting in a 25% reduction in crime. In Preston, the Lancashire Evening Post spearheaded a fundraising campaign for improvements to a crime hit area helping to fund a £1.5 million community centre.

The 2018 bid to bring the World Cup to England is being supported by several newspapers including the Sheffield Star and Sunderland Echo.

Efforts to boost health service facilities were again at the forefront of campaigns run by our titles. The Wigan Observer’s “Heartbeat” campaign aims to raise £1.0 million to turn a cardiac unit into a centre of excellence; the Wigan and Leigh Reporter’s “Light for a Life” campaign raised £40,000 for a hospice; at Kettering, the Evening Telegraph has been running a £100,000 campaign to equip a recovery area for people who have undergone heart surgery; and £50,000 was raised by the Shields Gazette for a new heart monitor at South Tyneside District Hospital. The Lynn News baby unit appeal reached a successful climax, hitting its £150,000 target. At Doncaster, the Free Press is close to reaching a £600,000 target to buy a cancer scanner for the town’s cancer detection trust. The Burnley Express ran an appeal to raise more than £90,000 for Pendleside Hospice. The Yorkshire Post teamed up with Oxfam for an event which had 600 competitors and raised £385,000 for charity through an endurance test in the Yorkshire Dales.

One of the more light hearted local events was backed by the Banbury Guardian – a “Strictly Banbury” contest, mirroring the TV “Strictly Come Dancing” programme with local celebrities, including the Editor, learning to dance and raising cash for charity at the same time.

A swimathon organised by the Leamington Courier raised £10,000 for good causes; the Rugby Advertiser is fundraising with a target of £25,000 to repair the roof of St Andrew’s Church in the town and in Northampton, the Chronicle & Echo supported a number of charitable causes including raising £120,000 for the Macmillan coffee morning and £30,000 for a hospice.

More than £1,000 was raised by the Bridlington Free Press Anniversary 150 fund for good causes. The Donegal Democrat hosted “Gabrielle’s Diary’s Annual Ball” to raise funds for Autism Support. The event was attended by several hundred guests.

A number of titles acted as media sponsors of various charitable causes.

During 2009 the Group increased its open door policy for local schools, colleges and community organisations. Many local communities took advantage of these schemes to tour the Group’s production facilities.

Breaking News
Our newspapers and websites were again at the forefront of news coverage in their communities – regularly breaking stories that went on to get major coverage in national and international media.

The Lancashire Evening Post broke the story that governors at Kirkham Prison ran a raffle for inmates – with the prize being a day out! The Scotsman exposed the terminal difficulties at the Dunfermline Building Society which led to its collapse and exposed the crisis within the Glasgow Housing Association. Scotland on Sunday broke the story of the sacking of an SNP minister’s aide over his internet attacks on opposition politicians. The title also exposed the safety risk at Scotland’s oil depots, the SNP plans to keep military bases, the Orange Order mobilising to defend the Union and revealed the weeks of delays for swine flu jabs.

The Portsmouth News led the way in breaking stories about Portsmouth FC – including the sacking of manager Tony Adams and the takeover by an Arab businessman. In Luton, our papers broke news of the disruption by Muslim extremists of a homecoming parade by Bedfordshire’s local regiment.

A reader helped the Peterborough Evening Telegraph capture a photograph of a Lamborghini supercar on fire – a picture which was later carried by various media including Top Gear.

More than 15,000 people clicked on to the Longford Leader’s website on Christmas Day to read exclusive coverage of the fire at St Mel’s Cathedral. The Limerick Leader had an exclusive interview with the Bishop of Limerick before his resignation over a child abuse scandal.

A Morecambe Visitor story about a cab driver who tried to sell his kidney on the internet for £25,000 to pay for a new kitchen was followed widely and sparked a national debate on the ethics of this type of action.

An exclusive interview with the deputy governor of the Bank of England carried in the Scarborough Evening News was followed up by national media. The Wakefield Express broke the story about a wedding photographer whose pictures were so bad he became the laughing stock of the nation.

The story about the youth who prompted national outrage after urinating on poppy wreaths at the base of a Sheffield war memorial was first revealed in the Sheffield Star.

Major awards won in 2009
Our journalists won a number of awards during the year.

Hard-hitting investigations gained the Yorkshire Post awards including recognition for writer Rob Waugh as runner-up in the Paul Foot Award for investigative journalism. The investigations were into spending conducted by Leeds Metropolitan University officials; the Sheffield Wednesday FC takeover, and Leeds City Credit Union.

Vicky Carr, a trainee reporter on the Harrogate Advertiser and Wetherby News achieved the best National Certificate Examination (NCE) result for five years.

Other awards received are summarised below.

Press Gazette Regional Press Awards
Photographer of the year: Simon Hulme, Yorkshire Post

O2 Media Awards
Newspaper of the year: Yorkshire Post
Editorial team of the year: Worksop Guardian
Business journalist: Greg Wright, Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire digital journalist: David Behrens, Yorkshire Post
North West digital journalist: William Watt, Blackpool Gazette
Feature writer: Tom Richmond, Yorkshire Post
Lancashire and Manchester young journalist: Natalie Banks, Chorley Guardian
BIBA Awards Regional Insurance journalist of the year: Conal Gregory, Yorkshire Post
Watson Wyatt HR journalism award: Greg Wright, Yorkshire Post

Yorkshire Press Awards
Newspaper of the year: Yorkshire Post
Weekly newspaper: Dewsbury Reporter
Journalist of the year: Martin Smith, Sheffield Star
Weekly reporter: Claire Armstrong, Dewsbury Reporter
Sports writer: Martin Smith, Sheffield Star
Best multi media news delivery: Graham Walker, Sheffield Star
Campaign of the year: Wakefield Express
Feature writer: Rod McPhee, Yorkshire Evening Post
Reporter: Jonathan Reed, Yorkshire Post
Photographer: Simon Hulme, Yorkshire Post
Business writer: Greg Wright, Yorkshire Post
Breaking news story: Scarborough Evening News
Trainee reporter: Ruby Kitchen, Harrogate Advertiser
Business coverage: Laura Crothers, Scarborough Evening News

Scottish Press Awards
Campaign of the year: The Scotsman
Journalist of the year: Bill Jamieson, The Scotsman
Scoop of the year: Gerri Peev, The Scotsman
Sports photographer: Jane Barlow, The Scotsman
Gaelic journalist of the year: Alasdai H Caimbeul, The Scotsman
Sports feature writer: Tom English, Scotland on Sunday
Feature writer: Peter Ross, Scotland on Sunday

First ScotRail Photography Awards
Feature photography: Phil Wilkinson, Scotland on Sunday
Picture essay: Ian Rutherford, The Scotsman

North East Awards
Journalist of the year: Paul Watson, Hartlepool Mail
Splash subbing award: Keith McCaffery, Hartlepool Mail

Other Awards
Best website: lep.co.uk (Lancashire Evening Post)
Midlands weekly photographer of the year: Marisa Cashill, Derbyshire Times
National Police Award for digital innovation: Whitby Gazette
Designer: Graeme Windell, Portsmouth News
North West Society of Editors daily newspaper of the year: Blackpool Gazette
Racing Post Tipster’s trophy: Steve Simpson, Blackpool Gazette
Mid-West Ireland newspaper of the year: Limerick Leader
Best news story: David Hurley, Limerick leader
Best sports story: John Hogan, Limerick Leader
Best news photograph: Owen South, Limerick Leader
Best general photograph: Adrian Butler, Limerick Leader
NCTJ Media Law award: David Seymour, Boston Standard
Society of Editors award for best interview: Chantal Spittles, Worksop Guardian

Customer Services
It is Group policy to provide the highest standard of service to all of our customers. Each operating company has staff appointed to respond to all customer enquiries. There are strict procedures for resolving customer complaints or queries regarding service and these are carefully monitored by management.

Local management in each operation are responsible for ensuring that their companies and all their employees comply with the requirements of all customer and competition related legislation. It is Group policy that the interests of Johnston Press always require strict compliance and no one in the Group has authority to give any order or direction that would result in a violation of this policy. To monitor this, and for training purposes, the Group undertakes mystery shopping exercises where independent organisations interact with our business to provide feedback on our processes and procedures.

With the development of our regionalised call centres, the Group is striving to increase the levels of response, professionalism and overall experience for our customers.

The Group has also developed a series of customer service related metrics which are in place across the organisation and are subject to review by the Executive Directors at the twice yearly business reviews undertaken with each operation. We have also commissioned independent audits of our customer services in an effort to drive continual improvement. The Group Sales Charter introduced in 2004 has become enshrined in our operations to ensure that our customers and advertisers are always dealt with in a fair and equitable manner; our terms of trade are published in the Group’s newspapers as well as being linked to all of the Group’s websites. Equal attention is paid to the service that we provide to our readers and viewers with each editor directly responsible for any complaints. The Editorial Review Group, a body of senior Group editors, also meets regularly to discuss editorial policy and issues related to content. The Group also conforms to the Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice.

Environmental
The Group acknowledges that the protection of the environment is one of its key corporate responsibilities. We aim to comply with all relevant regulations and see the identification, management and control of environmental risks as being an implicit requirement for adherence to the Combined Code on Corporate Governance and the responsibilities of the Directors.

The Group has a long established scoring methodology and audit programme developed by independent environmental risk consultants to facilitate the ongoing monitoring and control of our policies and procedures. A rolling programme of internal audits of environmental impacts and risks is conducted throughout the year. Additionally, audits by external independent consultants have continued in order to verify the findings of these internal reviews. Detailed reports are produced after each visit and the implementation of all recommendations is monitored by management.

The Group continues to benefit from its investment in more energy efficient equipment as well as the time and effort put into the monitoring and control of energy consumption. The equipment introduced for this control has enabled the Group to continue to benefit from rebates against the Climate Change Levy Tax as well as targeting sites where base load consumption levels are not showing required reductions and subjecting them to detailed audits.

Energy management continues to be a priority for the Group and preparations are well underway for the introduction of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme from April 2010.

Table 2 below summarises the consumption of energy.

Table 2 - Consumption of Energy

* 2008 has been adjusted to recognise delayed charges 

The Group’s total electricity consumption fell by 11.1% in the year. The throughput in our print centres was down by 25.9% and their consumption per tonne of newsprint fell by 6.9%. Although the economic downturn and the closure of two of our print works towards the end of the year had an impact on our electricity usage, much of the saving is down to the efforts in our publishing centres and the increased awareness of energy management across the business, championed by the Carbon Footprint Taskforce and our Employee Forums. A greater percentage of our titles are now being printed on the modern triple-width presses which are more efficient. Gas consumption was down by 14.5% in total, helped by the replacement of old boilers and the closure of the heatset press which was a major user. The ongoing programme of inspecting boilers, making sure they are fit for purpose, time controlled and sized correctly continues and is now delivering tangible benefits.

The water consumption for the Group decreased by over 18.0% in the year. The numbers for the previous year have again had to be restated given some corrected billing for our suppliers relating to the last quarter of 2008. Much of the decrease is due to the commissioning of the system to recycle the water used for blanket washing at Portsmouth Web. The significant drop per tonne of throughput in the print centres of 25.9% is due to the increased percentage of our throughput going through the more efficient Dinnington and Portsmouth presses.

In the 2007 Annual Report, the Group confirmed that it had achieved the target originally set in 2003 for an overall reduction of 7% in its energy consumption by 2010. After this was achieved by the end of 2006, a new target was established of a further 10% reduction between 2007 and 2010. In 2009 we consumed over 17.1% less kWh of energy than in 2006 and have therefore achieved that target one year early. Budgets have been set for 2010 encompassing further year-onyear improvements and new longer term targets will be set by the Carbon Footprint Taskforce in conjunction with our external advisers.

We have also continued to make progress on reducing the Group’s car and van fleet. Total number of vehicles reduced by 9.9% in the year, although again this was principally driven by the reduction in headcount. The overall CO2 rating of the fleet came down by 10.5% reflecting the smaller fleet and our policy of only purchasing new vehicles that had lower ratings than those they replaced. With limited capital expenditure in the year, the average CO2 rating per vehicle only dropped marginally. Full details are shown in table 3. We expect this to improve in 2010 as we roll out a new car leasing programme.

Table 3 - Motor Vehicle Data

*Adjusted to include acquisitions completed in December 2005

New Initiatives
The migration of volumes to more energy and waste efficient presses continued in 2009. Three older presses were decommissioned in the year as the Group continued to reap the benefits of the investment in new printing technology undertaken over the last five years.

The focus on the Group’s carbon footprint resulted in numerous energy saving initiatives coming to fruition in the year. Motion sensors, intelligent timers and the latest Building Management technologies were upgraded across the Group’s main production sites. This allowed the efficiency of the heating, lighting, power, air and water plants to be optimised across the varying demand cycles. Printing plate processors, air compressors, chilled water plant and boilers can now be brought on and off line more efficiently to meet peak demands whilst saving energy during low demand periods.

Newsprint
Since 1991, the industry, through the Newspaper Society, has agreed targets with the Government on the recycled content of British newspapers. The target for the year 2000 was 40% and was steadily raised to 70%. The industry has consistently surpassed these targets and currently 87% of all newsprint in the UK comes from recycled paper.

Newspapers cannot be recycled indefinitely due to the process requiring some virgin fibre to maintain paper strength. All virgin fibre comes from environmentally sound, renewable resources which are monitored and certificated; mainly softwood coniferous forests, where, for every tree cut down, two or more are planted. Newspapers are not responsible for rainforest devastation as the hardwoods from such forests are not used in newsprint manufacture.

Emissions to Air
The Group decommissioned its last heatset press during the year, along with its oxidiser unit which continued to remove pollutants with an efficiency of 99.6% up until the press was shutdown. The heatset press passed its last SEPA inspection prior to the decommissioning.

Waste
The Group continued the migration of titles to short cut-off presses in 2009 reducing both paper and ink usage. The next generation of ink optimisation software was installed across the production sites resulting in a 9% reduction in ink usage.

New ways of reducing and recycling waste were introduced in the year, packaging materials for completed newspaper bundles were reduced or eliminated across all production sites and raw material packaging was recycled on site for the first time, as paper reel wrappers were cut for re-use as newspaper bundle wrapping.

Water and solvents continue to be cleaned and recycled on site wherever possible. The Group’s largest production facility at Dinnington near Sheffield is now classed as a low water user by the local Environmental Agency.

The Group continued its relationship with two industry leading waste partners and remains committed to optimise the recycling of waste streams through waste management and segregation. All paper waste is returned to paper mills for recycling, and all chemical waste is treated through audited and certificated waste processes.

Environmental Policy
The Group’s environmental policy is to ensure that every aspect of our activities is conducted in accordance with sound environmental practices through:

• Minimising the consumption of natural resources and energy, whilst consuming material goods in moderation. All newsprint consumed in the printing of our newspapers will either be from recycled sources or from sustainable managed forests. The objective is to have at least 75% of our consumption from recycled sources.
  
• Pursuing our Energy Policy in which our original aim is to reduce our consumption of energy on a like-for-like basis.
  
• Reducing the creation of waste by the adoption of improved operating practices and by the recycling of materials whenever practical.
  
• Ensuring all waste and effluent is disposed of in a safe and responsible manner.
  
• Ensuring all emissions to air comply with relevant current and planned legislation and that at least 99.5% of all Volatile Organic Compounds are removed during the process.
  
• Complying with all environmental legislation.

Johnston Press aims to foster among its staff, suppliers, customers, shareholders, other stakeholders and communities local to its operations an understanding of environmental issues in the context of its business. Our collective task is to ensure that we continually improve the environmental impact of our activities. Through this policy, Johnston Press recognises its responsibility towards the protection of the environment and issues this statement as a commitment of both management and employees to minimising the environmental impact of its operations.

Carbon Footprint
The Group established its Carbon Footprint Taskforce under the Chairmanship of S R Paterson, our Chief Financial Officer, in 2008. This taskforce developed the Group’s environmental policy and is responsible for co-ordinating the Group’s activities in this area.

Due to significant pressures across the business in 2009, the Group did not meet as often as planned but the intention is to address this in 2010.

Many of the Carbon Footprint Taskforce initiatives, which are designed to reduce our impact on the environment, are implemented through the Employee Forums that operate at all of our publishing centres. Reducing the environmental impact of our operations has been an initiative that has been embraced by the forums and has resulted in many local projects. We are pleased with how they have continued to promote these activities despite the difficult trading environment.

The aims of the Carbon Footprint Taskforce are as follows:

• Establish Group Policy and objectives
• Promote the general aims of “reduce, reuse, recycle”
• Work through the established Employee Forums
• Co-ordinate Group-wide initiatives
• Agree, under the auspices of the Newspaper Society, a standard method of measuring
  the Carbon Footprint (Scope 2) and seek to reduce this (base year 2006) by 25% over the next 5 years
• Run an annual Group Environmental Award

The Group continues to work in partnership with Dell, its principal supplier of IT equipment, to develop a disposal channel for redundant IT equipment. During 2009, we continued our programme of gathering end of life items from divisional centres and sending them to Dell regional collection points, minimising the environmental and transportation impact. Once collected and audited, Dell works with developing countries to provide the re-purposed computer systems to schools and emerging industry, where there is a shortage of such hardware. Anything which cannot be used in this way is broken down into its constituent parts and reused in industry to avoid disposal into landfill, ensuring total compliance with all WEEE Regulations and waste legislation.

Shareholders
Members of the Board (Executive and Non-Executive) have met a number of shareholders during the past year to discuss Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility matters and to address any questions raised by them.