Environment

Environmental Policy 

The JP 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 Corporate Governance Combined Code.

Back in 2002 a scoring methodology and audit programme was developed by independent environmental risk consultants to facilitate the ongoing monitoring and control of our policies and procedures. Extensive training was carried out and a rolling programme of internal audits of environmental impacts and risks was introduced. 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.

2006 was a significant year for Johnston Press in terms of ongoing efforts in the field of energy management.

Looking first at electricity, the enlarged Group’s annual consumption was 59.6m kWh. Of this 14.6m kWh related to those businesses acquired in the second half of 2005 and in January 2006. On a like for like basis, as can be seen in the table below, our electricity consumption decreased by 2.6%. Within that number there are two significant influences, firstly the one-off negative impact of establishing and building up volumes at our new press facility in Dinnington, inevitably this initial phase is inefficient, and secondly the ongoing benefit of closing the older inefficient presses that Dinnington replaces. We should see the full benefit of this in 2007.

Newsprint

As part of its ongoing commitment, as agreed with the Government, the industry, through the Newspaper Society, has continued to raise the target for the recycled content of newsprint used in the production of UK newspapers. Against a target of 67%, the actual figure achieved was 80%.

Newspapers cannot be recycled indefinitely due to the process requiring some virgin fibre to maintain paper strength. All virgin fibre comes from renewable managed softwood coniferous forests, which themselves are carefully monitored and certified.

Emissions to Air

The only emissions to air within the Group are associated with heatset presses. To facilitate the expansion of our Portsmouth Printing operations, an old heatset press has been closed and that capacity within the Group has been replaced by a more modern heatset press at Caledonian Offset Limited (COL), which became part of the Group through acquisition of The Scotsman Publications Limited. COL complies with and exceeds the requirements of its

permit under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. Annual independent servicing and testing of the Katec Oxidiser used on the heatset press is carried out to ensure compliance with all regulations which are governed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). SEPA also carries out regular inspections, the most recent being 28 September 2006 when no compliance issues were found and a favourable report achieved. By way of comparison, the system employed at COL is significantly more efficient than that on the press now closed at Portsmouth. It removes 99.96% of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) present in the process and VOC’s emitted to air have been reduced by 36% compared to Portsmouth to 1.6mg/Nm3. This compares very favourably to the regulatory requirements of 50mg/Nm3.

The operation continues to seek ways of reducing solvent usage as part of its Solvent Management Plan, testing and substituting whenever possible low solvent and non-VOC products as they become available.

Waste

The Group adheres to the requirements of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. The Group employs an industry recognised recycler to handle process waste and all non-paper waste is handled through them. This has been a very successful operation encompassing safe removal of waste with a transparent audit trail and an ISO 14001 accreditation.

In addition, the paper-based waste is now removed and recycled through a Group-wide arrangement with one of our major newsprint suppliers. Companies with no printing facilities are only required to account for any packaging utilised prior to delivery to the customer.

The Group is committed to ensure that its recycled newsprint goes into the production of new newsprint and random audits confirm this position.

All categories of waste are measured and monitored and systems are in operation, including an independent audit, to ensure that all waste is correctly disposed of. Initiatives to reduce waste production are constantly evaluated.

Projects to re-cycle press and pre-press chemistry are underway, and the reduction of packaging has continued through further investment in recyclable fibre packaging and bulk raw material.

Acquisitions

Recent acquisitions have been audited for energy efficiency and waste management. The necessary investment is underway to bring them in line with Group standards.

Carbon Footprint

Recognising the increased awareness of climate change and every corporation’s responsibility to manage its carbon footprint, the Group has established a Carbon Footprint Task Force which will operate along similar lines to the Health & Safety Committee. The remit of the Task Force will be to:

1. Establish the extent of our current carbon footprint and introduce measurement and monitoring processes going forward.
2. Drive initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint across the Group.
3. Investigate and implement programmes which promote the use of sustainable resources.
4. Champion and communicate programmes to reduce energy consumption across the Group.