Rupert
Murdoch gave the speech below on the 9th of May, 2007
at the Hudson Theater, New York City. It was also broadcast live by webcast to
News Corporation employees around the world. It outlines the new push for the
company to become carbon neutral by 2010. Murdoch talks about the effects of global
warming and encourages the many News Corp. owned companies around the world to
engage the community on this very important issue.
The Rupert Murdoch
speech now follows..
 Good
morning. Thank you for joining us here today. This morning is the first time we
have ever done a global event for all News Corp. employees, many of whom are joining
us live by webcast. So I should say good morning, but to those of you who are
watching: good afternoon, and good evening...I'm
here to tell you about a new initiative we're undertaking at News, one that will
affect us all. As
many of you know, I grew up in Melbourne, Australia and the last few months and
years have brought some changes there: In
Melbourne, 2006 was the 10th consecutive year with below average rainfall. And
2005 was the hottest year on record throughout Australia. Australia
is suffering its worst drought in 100 years. Now,
I realize we can't take just one year in one city or even one continent as proof
that something unusual is happening. And I am no scientist. But
there are signs around the world, and I do know how to assess a risk. Climate
change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but
we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction. We
must transform the way we use energy, and of course not only because of climate
change... When
I look around the world today, I see continued dependence on oil from vulnerable
regions... and oil money going to leaders of countries hostile to us. Then there's
accelerating development in China, India and other developing economies that are
reliant on fossil fuels. But
there are promising new technologies-- bio-fuels, solar and wind power, cleaner
coal. And we all
hear a demand from the public-- our audiences-- for governments and businesses
to involve them in solving our energy challenge. Climate
change and energy use are global problems-- News Corp is a global company. Our
operations affect the environment all over the world. Our
audiences-- hundreds of millions of people on five continents-- care about this
issue. Three quarters of the American public believes climate change is a serious
problem, and in many other countries, developed and developing, the numbers are
even higher. And
as many companies have already learned, acting on this issue is simply good business. Reducing
our use of energy reduces costs. Inviting
our employees to be active on this issue helps us recruit and retain the world's
best. For us,
as a media company-- this is a chance to deepen our relationships with our viewers,
readers, and web users. The
initiative we are launching today will involve every business, every function.
It's not only for our facilities managers or our fleet directors-- it's about
how we recruit new employees, how we develop relationships with advertisers and
how we design movie sets. This
is about changing the DNA of our business to re-imagine how we look at energy. This
is all new for us. We have much to learn from others. We studied the example of
BSkyB, and we met with non-governmental organizations, with other companies, and
with scientific experts. If
we are to connect with our audiences on this issue, we learned that we must first
get our own house in order... We're
not a manufacturer, or an airline, but we do use energy. Printing and publishing
newspapers, producing films, broadcasting television signals, operating 24-hour
newsrooms. It all adds carbon to the atmosphere. Our
first step was to measure our emissions of greenhouse gases-- our carbon footprint. Our
carbon footprint last year was 641,150 tons. This includes the electricity used
in all our operations globally, and any fuels we burned. Our
analysis was independently verified and, today, we are reporting these figures
to the public. We
could make a difference just by holding our emissions steady as our businesses
continue to grow. But that doesn't seem to be enough: we want to go all the way
to zero. Today,
I am announcing our intention to be carbon neutral, across all our businesses,
by 2010. BSkyB
has already done this. When all of News Corporation becomes carbon neutral it
will have the same impact as turning off the electricity in the city of London
for five full days. Some
of our businesses use more energy than others, but our strategy everywhere is
the same... first, reduce our use of energy as much as possible. Then, switch
to renewable sources of power where it makes economic sense... And,
over time, as a last resort, offset the emissions we can't avoid. This
will take time, but we have already started: On
the Fox lot in Los Angeles, we have completed three separate reviews of energy
use, and we found some areas to address immediately... even just switching the
bulbs in our exit signs, will reduce carbon emissions by 200 tons. That's equal
to 200 flights from New York to LA. We're
also experimenting with solar-powered golf carts on the Lot... We've
broken ground on the new Fox studios building that will be our first U.S. building
officially certified as achieving excellence in environmental design. The
New York Post has begun replacing lighting at their plant... and we'll do the
same at our headquarters. Our
new Fox Networks Center in Houston will utilize the latest LED lighting technology
in all of its master control rooms. And
at News America Marketing in the U.S. and at News Digital Media in Australia,
we've begun replacing the companies' fleet cars with hybrid vehicles. The
award-winning Keith Murdoch House in Adelaide, opened two years ago, uses 40%
less energy than a typical office building. It uses solar panels to heat water,
and collects rainwater from the roof to be re-used in the building. As
we upgrade and expand everywhere, building new data centers and office buildings,
from Bulgaria to India, from Chicago to Milan, we will always take energy into
account... As
we reduce our energy consumption, we are also buying electricity from sources
that use less carbon... Today,
I am proud to announce that both News International and HarperCollins in the UK
have entered arrangements to buy renewable energy... 70% of News International's
electricity will now come from hydroelectric power plants in Scotland... saving
36,000 tons of carbon next year alone-- that's enough to fill 650 railroad cars
with coal. These
two businesses have made such rapid progress that they will be carbon neutral
by the end of this year. While
we handle our own emissions, we can also work with our business partners to reduce
emissions together.... Sky,
working with NDS, redesigned their set-top boxes to go to a power-saving mode
automatically. Fox
Home Entertainment was recently recognized by Wal-Mart for reducing the environmental
impacts of our DVDs and-- just yesterday-- we completed an analysis of the carbon
footprint of a DVD from the first moment of its production-- all the way to the
retailer's shelf. In
London, we have done a similar analysis of one issue of the Times-- from the tree
to disposal-- looking for ways to reduce carbon up and down our supply chain. While
we reduce our own carbon footprint we will encourage the companies who truck our
DVDs and newspapers, sell us paper, and provide an enormous range of products
and services-- to all contribute. Today,
we are joining the Climate Group, a coalition of businesses and governments working
together to solve the climate problem. But
some emissions will be unavoidable. As a last resort, we will offset these emissions. A
carbon offset is a financial tool to support projects that prevent carbon from
being released into the atmosphere. Done right, they will widen the implementation
of carbon-saving technologies, and give an incentive to create new solutions. We
have entered into an agreement to begin purchasing carbon offsets this year, from
projects that provide wind power in India. When
our net emissions reach zero-- through a combination of operational changes and
carbon offsets-- we will be carbon neutral. We
need to push ourselves to make as many reductions as possible in our own energy
use first-- and that takes time. But we must do this quickly-- the climate will
not wait for us. But
becoming carbon neutral is only the beginning. The climate problem will not be
solved by one company reducing its emissions to zero, and it won't be solved by
one government acting alone. The
climate problem will not be solved without mass participation by the general public
in countries around the globe. And
that's where we come in. We're
starting with our own carbon footprint. Not nothing. But much of what we're doing
is already, or soon will be, little more than the standard way of doing business. We
can do something that's unique, different from just any other company. We can
set an example, and we can reach our audiences. Our audience's carbon footprint
is 10,000 times bigger than ours... That's
the carbon footprint we want to conquer. We
cannot do it with gimmicks. We need to reach them in a sustained way. To weave
this issue into our content-- make it dramatic, make it vivid, even sometimes
make it fun. We want to inspire people to change their behavior. Imagine
if we succeed in inspiring our audiences to reduce their own impacts on climate
change by just one percent. That would be like turning the State of California
off for almost two months. And
imagine if... we were able to take on the carbon footprint of our audience in
Asia. Many of the most serious impacts of climate change will be felt there, and
China and India's emissions are rising rapidly. STAR is the number one Hindi-language
network in the world. In India alone, we reach 100 million people. The
challenge is to revolutionize the message. For
too long, the threats of climate change have been presented as doom and gloom--
because the consequences are so serious. We
need to do what our company does best: make this issue exciting. Tell the story
in a new way. And,
as you saw in our opening video, this is already happening... news coverage of
this issue is increasing, but we can also do some things that are unexpected: SPEED,
the network devoted to cars and motorcycles, is working on a project that will
peek into the future as transportation, fuels, and motorsports go green... Our
advertisers are asking us for ways to reach audiences on this issue. FOX
is developing a solutions-based campaign which will offer advertisers the opportunity
to partner with us to engage the general public. 24
is committing to change the way the show is produced... using biodiesel generators,
and powering the studio with renewable energy... FOX
has plans underway for the All-Star Game this summer, and the TV stations are
planning a campaign to give their viewers ideas on what they can do at a local
level. The National
Geographic Channel is launching a new effort, called Preserve Our Planet, to offer
programming related to climate change... On
July 7, a series of concerts around the world, the LiveEarth concerts, will draw
further attention to this issue... and Foxtel will be the exclusive Australian
broadcast partner for this event. And
then there's what we can do online. I'm proud to announce that MySpace has launched
a channel dedicated to climate change.
http://www.myspace.com/ourplanet
What
better way to enable young people to connect with each other and engage on this
issue. Now...
there are limits to how far we can push this issue in our content. Not every hero
on television can drive a hybrid car. Often times it just won't fit. We must avoid
preaching. And there has to be substance behind the glitz. But
if we are genuine, we can change the way the public thinks about these issues. Now
there will always be journalists... including some of ours... who are skeptical,
which is natural and healthy. But the debate is shifting from whether climate
change is really happening to how to solve it. And when so many of the solutions
make sense for us as a business, it is clear that we should take action not only
as a matter of public responsibility, but because we stand to benefit. This
all begins with you, our employees. As we reduce our company's carbon footprint,
we will help you to reduce your own. I've
started myself-- I bought a hybrid car a few months ago-- and of course for each
of us there will be some changes we can make, and other changes we can't. But
we shouldn't let what we can't do stop us from doing what we can. We
have launched Cool Change, our campaign to communicate with you on this issue,
including a website where you can contribute ideas, and be rewarded for your efforts. Fox
has recently announced a new benefit it is offering its employees: a financial
incentive to buy or lease a hybrid car. We now plan to roll this out to other
News Corporation businesses. I
ask each of you to think about how this effort affects your own job, because I
am certain it does. As
you discover new ways to save money or connect with your audiences or business
partners, you will realize: finding a way to act on climate change is not only
good for the planet, and not only good for our business, it will be good for your
career. And it
will be great for attracting new talent-- dynamic, creative, engaged people who
think about the future, not one year ahead, but a generation ahead-- exactly the
kind of people we need for our company to thrive. Our
company has always been about imagining the future and then making that vision
a reality. News
was once a small publisher of newspapers in one region of Australia... There
have always been those who doubted us...
Who doubted us when we expanded to
Great Britain...
When we launched a fourth broadcast network in the United
States...
When we launched a cable news network...
When we bought
MySpace... And
they have been proven wrong. At each step, we took a risk, and re-invented ourselves. News
Corporation, today, reaches people at home and at work... when they're thinking...
when they're laughing... and when they are making choices that have enormous impact. The
unique potential-- and duty-- of a media company are to help its audiences connect
to the issues that define our time. We
are only at the beginning of this mission, and we have a long way to go. As
we imagine the future, our responsibility now is to make that future our own.
I hope that each of you will continue to be inspired by that challenge, just as
I am. We have much to do. Thank
you.
Rupert Murdoch
See a summary of
News
Corporation Companies or the Rupert
Murdoch Biography..
| 
Bookmark