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Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue, New Yorker, GQ, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Wired, and others, has announced plans to become completely carbon neutral by 2030 as part of its long term global sustainability commitments. The company also intends to transition to 100% internationally certified paper by December 2021 and end the use of all single-use plastic packaging within five years.
The company’s sustainability strategy includes all areas of the business, with the ultimate goal of mitigating its global environmental footprint through emission reductions and carbon offsets.
In 2018, the company generated 341,233 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) of which 8% was corporate and 92% originated from its supply chain. This also included 440 tonnes of single-use plastic used in magazine packaging.
In a clear message to its suppliers, Condé Nast will ask for “positive changes across its entire supply chain”. This includes a commitment to work with suppliers to reduce emissions, starting with a 10% reduction in print and digital supply chain emissions by end of 2021. In doing so, Condé will become one of the first publishing companies to begin accounting for the environmental footprint of its entire value chain.
The company will also ‘revise its procurement approaches’ putting considerable pressure on its suppliers to give similar undertakings, without which Condé’s sustainability goals will remain out of reach.
Speaking to What’s New in Publishing, a spokesperson from Condé countered that the company was more interested in leading the way for the publishing industry as a whole, rather than leaning on its own suppliers, saying, “this isn’t about enforcing our initiative, but more about leading the way for the publishing industry as a whole, fostering greater collaboration and inspiring our partners to get on board too.”
Wolfgang Blau, Condé Nast’s Global Chief Operating Officer & President, International, added, “We believe that the health of people, of our businesses and of the planet are intertwined. We cannot care for one and ignore the other.
“We also think that the credibility of our environmental journalism depends on our willingness as a company to improve our own operations and supply chains in ways that dramatically reduce our carbon footprint and waste.”
In a related move, the company has also simultaneously launched the Sustainable Fashion Glossary, a global resource for understanding sustainable fashion and the fashion industry’s role in climate change. The company will continue to work with industry partners as part of the UNFCCC’s Fashion for Global Climate Action initiative, with the shared goal of promoting broader climate action within fashion.