Companies That Go Green Really Help
Environmentalists say green initiatives like News Corp's will help the climate.
Sept. 11, 2007 — -- Corporations that are going green, it turns out, really are helping the environment.
If Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which encompasses Fox News, the New York Post and soon the Wall Street Journal, is successful in becoming carbon neutral by the year 2010, the impact on the climate will be substantial, according to environmentalists.
"[The impact] isn't small," said Kert Davies, the research director for Greenpeace. "Their footprint is 641,150 tons of carbon. That's the equivalent of taking 130,000 cars off the road."
Murdoch's climate crusade was announced last May, and the company has since released details of it plans on becoming greener. Off-setting their carbon emissions by investing in wind turbines in India is one of those ways, as is a more energy efficient set for their hit TV show "24."
Similarly, companies such as NBC Universal, Dupont and BP have also done their part to cut back on carbon emissions and help the environment.
NBC Universal organized "Green is Universal," a weeklong programming stint to educate viewers about issues affecting the environment. Universal has also committed to improving their corporate energy emissions.
The amount of money saved by these corporations cutting back on power supplies is huge, said Gwen Ruta, director of corporate partnerships at Environmental Defense.
"Dupont set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by the year 2000, and it received a reduction of 72 percent by 2004," said Ruta. "They avoided a cost of more than $3 billion."
Similarly, BP saved more than $15 billion, according to Ruta, simply by scaling back its green house emissions.
"Murdoch will make more money because energy efficiency is a great way to make money -- you're saving money by preserving energy," said Davies. "You're going to save money which means making money."
But the scope of the impact these corporations have on the environment goes further than the direct result on the climate, said Davies of Greenpeace.
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