The following article was originally published on WWD Japan.
Hearst Fujingaho, which operates magazines such as ELLE, Harper’s BAZAAR, and 25ans, is working to decarbonize its business by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the company. In 2023, the company participated in a model project for the carbon footprint of products and services run by the Ministry of the Environment, measuring the carbon footprint of events it hosts. Starting in July of this year, the company has also begun disclosing the carbon footprint figures for magazine production for all 14 of its magazines.
Carbon footprinting is a system that converts and displays the amount of GHG emissions throughout a product’s entire life cycle, from sourcing raw materials to disposal and recycling, into carbon dioxide equivalents. In the magazine manufacturing process, it is necessary to obtain GHG emission data from paper suppliers, ink suppliers, the printing process, and transportation. Why did the company decide to start calculating and disclosing carbon footprints, a practice that is still rare in the media industry? We spoke to Ikehara Ayako, General Manager of the President’s Office, who promotes decarbonization within the company, about the significance of this initiative in a media company.
WWD: What prompted Hearst Fujingaho to start working on decarbonization?
Ayako Ikehara, General Manager of the President’s Office (hereinafter, Ikehara): A big turning point was when Nicolas Floquet became president in 2018. We had been promoting the use of printing inks containing vegetable oils and FSC-certified paper before, but when he took office, he announced that sustainability would be at the core of our management, and this became a priority for the entire company.
WWD: What was the mission entrusted to you, Mr. Ikehara?
Ikehara: I joined the sustainability team around 2010. That was when the company-wide project to measure carbon footprints got underway. My first mission was to lead the initiative. However, this was my first time working on calculating GHG emissions. There were a lot of unfamiliar technical terms, such as “scope 1, 2, and 3,” but I studied from scratch by reading books and getting advice from external consultants. Currently, I am working with Hiroko Otake, sustainability manager, to promote company-wide initiatives.
WWD: We heard that you plan to offer advertisers a “decarbonization support advertising plan” by 2026.
Ikehara: This is an advertising plan to calculate GHG emissions from advertising and event implementation and reduce them as much as possible. To achieve this, we are currently in the process of calculating GHG emissions for each business division and formulating reduction action plans.
WWD: Are there actually requests from clients for “carbon neutrality support advertising” plans?
Ikehara: In the past, Western luxury brands have asked us to report the amount of CO2 emissions they incurred in producing supplementary volumes. Although it is not common, such requests are sure to increase. I have heard from the sustainability manager at Hearst’s UK branch that the time will soon come when reports on CO2 emissions will be required to be submitted along with invoices. Given this trend, I thought it was urgent to at least prepare a system that would allow us to calculate the amount.
WWD: What kind of initiatives are each department currently taking?
Ikehara: First of all, it is important for each employee to deepen their understanding. In addition to calculating GHG emissions from events and magazine production, we have also started calculating them from content production such as interviews and photography. We have asked all editorial departments to calculate the carbon footprint for at least one interview or tie-up. By measuring with your own hands how much GHG is emitted in each part of your daily work, you can understand how carbon footprints work. We also ask employees to refrain from using taxis, which have high GHG emissions, but if they understand the system, they will be able to make voluntary efforts. Also, since last year, we have strengthened training to deepen understanding of climate change and greenwashing. We make it compulsory for all employees to take this course, and we encourage them to acquire it as the minimum literacy of our employees.
WWD: Were there any hurdles to overcome in getting all your employees to understand?
Ikehara: As someone who works in the media, I think there were few people who had no interest at all. However, there were responses that it was difficult to find time to work on GHG calculations and take training in addition to their regular work, and it was difficult to get them to make it a priority since it was not directly linked to immediate sales. What I was conscious of was communicating in a way that would make employees feel that decarbonization efforts were beneficial for them. I feel that our focus on sustainability has now become a source of pride for our employees, and sustainability has naturally come up as one of our company’s strengths among our younger employees.
WWD: What specific measures are you taking to achieve decarbonization?
Ikehara: Starting in 2011, we began using “Green Power Certificates” to cover the electricity used in printing and binding all 14 of our periodical publications with renewable energy. We also reduced the amount of plastic used in our magazine business by changing the surface treatment of magazines, which previously used plastic materials, and reducing the amount of plastic packaging used in supplements. In 2010, we were able to reduce this by 80% compared to fiscal 2019. We also changed our domestic business trip policy. We now ask employees to refrain from using airplanes, which have high GHG emissions, and to use trains if travel times are less than 4.5 hours. In reality, it is very difficult to decide how to change our practices. But we don’t stop thinking there, and we are steadily putting things into practice, one thing at a time, starting with what we can do.
WWD: How did you seek cooperation from outside the company?
Ikehara: That is a difficult but particularly important part. Although we are also a manufacturer, when we measure our footprint, we can only reduce 1% of it ourselves. The remaining 99% cannot be reduced without the cooperation of suppliers such as paper companies and printing companies. When we first asked our suppliers for GHG emissions data, many of them responded with things like, “I know it’s important, but I don’t know where to start,” and “It takes time to reach a consensus within the company.” There was no precedent for calculating the footprint of magazine manufacturing, so there were many unknowns and unclear parts. We worked together with each company, taking one step forward and then half a step back, learning from each other as we went along. Looking back now, we feel like we were a team that worked hard without giving up, even when we didn’t know anything.
WWD: What kind of discussions are there within the company about balancing reducing environmental impact with business growth?
Ikehara: The concept of sustainability should be discussed not only in terms of the environment but also in terms of business sustainability. Otherwise, in the extreme, we may end up saying that magazines and events are unnecessary. With both sides in mind, what we are focusing on now is how we can reduce the items we emit through our efforts. For example, instead of building new facilities for event venues, we are thinking about whether we can reuse existing ones and how we can create an attractive space while reducing waste. Developing a team that can come up with such ingenuity will be a strength of the company in the future.
WWD: What is the significance of working towards decarbonization as a media company?
Ikehara: The biggest difference between a typical business company and the media is the power of communication. Decarbonization in particular requires a change in the behavior of many people. One of the pillars of our company’s sustainability efforts is “educating the public.” I think we can demonstrate our strength by providing accurate information to our readers and creating opportunities for awareness among the many people who come into contact with our content.
WWD: What kind of collaboration do you think is needed across the media industry?
Ikehara: After carrying out the carbon footprint calculations, I felt the need for a unified standard. It takes a lot of time and effort for the people who measure it to gather information from scratch, and it can also confuse the consumers who receive the calculated values. I felt a strong need to get on the same page as the industry. All magazines have now started disclosing their calculated values, but there are probably few readers who understand what those numbers mean. Still, it’s meaningful to let people know that carbon dioxide is generated in the production of magazines.
WWD: What’s your ideal?
Ikehara: The slogan that our president, Floquet, has set forth is “Build Trust.” In a world filled with a confusing array of information, we want to be a trusted source of information for consumers. We are also focusing on educating our employees to avoid greenwashing in the field of sustainability. We will continue to make efforts as a company, and aim to provide high-quality information from transparent and trustworthy media. What’s interesting is that when we hold events such as study sessions for outside the company, we feel an attitude of wanting to join forces together beyond the boundaries of media. We also want to proactively create collaboration between media.
