NEW YORK/SYDNEY(Reuters) – The Australian arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has set new environmental targets, an internal email showed, shoring up employee engagement with climate issues as it prepares an editorial campaign calling for curbs on carbon emissions.
The new goals, which have not been formally announced, are incremental to previous targets for News Corp’s Australian unit, but reflect a company polishing up its green credentials inside and out in a market where it has experienced fierce criticism of its coverage of climate-related issues.
“News Corp Australia has indeed been continuously reducing carbon emissions over the past 5 years, averaging 7.4% reduction a year over that time,” a News Corp Australia spokesman said in an email.
With that success, he said, “we have now set new and ambitious targets we are confident are meaningful and achievable.”
After some commentators at News Corp and Fox News, which is owned by Murdoch-controlled Fox Corp, questioned the role of global warming in Australian bushfires in 2019 and 2020, Murdoch’s son James quit the News Corp board citing editorial differences, while other staff in the country went public with complaints about its climate coverage.
Australia operations were responsible for 62% of News Corp’s carbon emissions globally in the 2020 financial year, according to News Corp’s “carbon footprint” report, which said that emissions for News Corp had declined 7% since the year before.
“We are re-imagining and re-powering our 1 Degree environmental program and inviting all at News Corp Australia to get involved,” said the Sept. 27 email, seen by Reuters, referring to a 2007 company campaign to raise awareness of sustainability practices.
empowerment & inner transformation... 