By Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Magazine publishers can measure the carbon footprint of their titles with the new carbon calculator developed by the UK Periodical Publishers Association.

Sally Cartwright, director-at-large at Hello! magazine, launched the calculator at the break-out session on sustainability in practice at the Fipp 2009 World Magazine Congress in London today.

“You can use it to validate your preferred suppliers, you can use it to set targets for reductions, and you can use it to use carbon offset schemes,” Cartwright said. “At the moment the threshold for compulsory participation in a carbon offset scheme [in the UK] is £500m in energy use in a year and for us at the moment that's one publisher, IPC Media. You can bet that this threshold will com down year by year to bring more of us into it.”

Cartwright said the calculator was free to PPA members and the association would look to make the methodology available to other magazine trade bodies around the world.

The calculator took into account factors such as transport, covermounts and poly-bagging but did not give credit for recycling the magazines at the end of their lives, whether unsold copies or as post-consumer waste.

The tool has been in development for two years and is based on analysis from Edge in collaboration with industry partners BPIF, The Paper Profile Secretariat, Menzies and Polestar. Dr Steven Howard, chief executive of The Climate Group, said in the same break-out session that the magazine industry needed to embrace the opportunities posed by a low-carbon future and back the climate change talks in Copenhagen later this year.

He added that there was no point to analysis comparing whether digital or printed products were more environmentally friendly.

“You're not comparing like with like,” Howard said “I'd be inclined not to get into the war between print and digital media and instead let's look at what leadership looks like in each and it's renewable energy and certified sources and that's the healthier approach.”

Cartwright said it was important for the magazine industry to have as good a carbon footprint as possible to help convince advertisers to use the medium but admitted that Hello! had only had one advertiser in its 21-year history who wanted to know the carbon footprint of and advertisement.

Meanwhile, Peter Phippen, managing director of BBC Magazines and PPA chairman, said it was a much bigger issue for his clients especially for titles such as BBC Wildlife magazine.