Sustainability
Environmental issues have become an important topic with nearly every major news outlet providing coverage of issues ranging from the science of climate change to its economic effects. Our publishing and film businesses have produced scores of articles and many movies addressing pertinent environmental issues.
In addition to addressing climate change and energy efficiency, our company's environmental stewardship activities include our waste reduction initiatives, sustainable forestry and paper practices, and green building design
TIME WARNER ENVIRONMENT STATEMENT
Time Warner is committed to conducting our businesses in an environmentally responsible and proactive manner, consistent with our commitment to corporate citizenship, social responsibility and sustainability. Our experience has demonstrated that sustainable business practices can be cost-effective, build employee and customer loyalty and even drive new business for the company.
We aim to conserve natural resources and minimize waste through source reduction and recycling; handle and dispose of wastes through safe, environmentally responsible methods; encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources; and encourage our business partners and suppliers to strive for the same high levels of environmental performance.
CLIMATE CHANGE
In addition to sustainable forestry efforts and recycled paper efforts, our businesses work to reduce their environmental footprint by limiting the resources required for products, packaging, and distribution and by cutting down the amount of waste produced throughout our business.
Read more in our 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Report.
FORESTRY AND PAPER
Because of the enormous volume of paper required to publish magazines, sustainable forestry and responsible paper use are most relevant for our Time Inc. division. For nearly 20 years, Time Inc. has been a prominent player in global sustainable forestry — the practice of harvesting trees in a way that does not deplete forests, hurt wildlife or damage the landscape. We know sustainable forestry helps confront global warming head on and is a good business practice. Through Time Inc.'s Certified Sustainable Forestry program the division has increased the amount of certified fiber in its magazines from 25% in 2002 to approximately 70% in 2006 with a goal of 80% by 2009. This was achieved by developing strict standards and working in partnership with governments and landowners who provide the majority of fiber to the U.S. marketplace.
Read more in Time Inc.'s 2009 – 2010 Sustainability Report.
ReMix — Recycling Magazines is Excellent
In recent years, the demand for recycled paper has surged and the supply has not kept up. In 2004, Time Inc. launched a program called Recycling Magazines is Excellent (ReMix) in partnership with Verso Paper and the National Recycling Coalition. ReMix is a national public education campaign aimed at increasing the recycling of magazines and catalogs. In addition to helping meet the global demand for paper, recycling helps curb global warming by limiting the need to harvest trees to produce new paper and by lowering the amount of methane released by decaying paper in landfills. Successful ReMix programs are currently operating in Boston, MA; Prince George's County, MD; Milwaukee, WI; and Portland, OR. ReMix has had a measurable positive impact. Boston, for example, saw an 18% increase in magazine recycling, Prince George's County went up 19%, and even Portland, where citizens are al-ready frequent magazine recyclers, achieved a 3% jump.
In early 2008, Time Inc. launched ReMix in New York City, where residents throw away more than 400,000 tons of recyclable paper each year — enough to fill the Empire State Building. For the New York City campaign, the original partners have been joined by Hearst Corp., Pratt Industries and the nonprofit Council on the Environment of New York City.
Read more in Time Inc.'s 2009 – 2010 Sustainability Report.
Warner Home Video
In the spring of 2007, Warner Home Video changed to chlorine-free, 30% post-consumer recycled paper for wraps, inserts, slipcases, sleeves, and other packaging materials. We estimate that these changes can prevent the emission of approximately 1,311,800 pounds of greenhouse gases, conserve approximately 5 million gallons of water, save more than 8 million BTU's of energy, and save more than 12,500 trees annually. Warner Home Video also announced that it would release two titles, Darfur Now, and The 11th Hour, with 100% certified sustainable packaging that is made in the U.S. without petroleum products. The papers are 100% post-consumer recycled stocks, the inks are soy-based, and the shrink-wrapping is made of biodegradable corn.
In-store displays are also going green. Warner Home Video now designs product displays in ways that conserve natural resources and minimize over-all environmental impact. Initiatives include: redesigning the display pallets to use 26% less corrugated paper, which saves approximately 110,000 trees annually; using 35% recycled fiberfluting and 18-25% recycled content liner board; switching to water-soluble and biodegradable inks with no heavy metals; and eliminating corrugated fillers and saving 26 sq. ft of board per display, which saves approximately 2,500 trees saved annually. Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Defense Paper-Calculator. For more information visit www.papercalculator.org.
WASTE REDUCTION
In addition to sustainable forestry efforts and recycled paper efforts, our businesses work to reduce their environmental footprint by limiting the resources required for products, packaging, and distribution and by cutting down the amount of waste produced throughout our business.
Read more in our 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Report.