All media consumption results in greenhouse gas emissions, both printed magazines and reading on the Internet. Reading a subscribed paper-based magazine and reading for the same amount of time on the Internet generates the same low greenhouse gas emissions.
The climate issue has created the need to have a better understanding of the environmental effects of magazines online and in printed format.
Many people are under the impression that printed magazines have a large impact on the environment, while reading online is always the climate-smart alternative.
In order to analyse these concepts, the Swedish Magazine Publishers Association commissioned the research institute Innventia to compare the environmental impact of printed magazines and online magazines from a lifecycle perspective, identifying which stages in the lifecycle cause an environmental impact and therefore identify where there is room for improvement.
The results of this study show that the environmental impact is very low for both media channels, which is of course good news.
So read with a clear conscience – both online and in printed format!
Facts to download in the right column:
The full set of results and inventory data can be found in Swedish in the Innventia report 97. The two appendices (in English): Appendix 1 Processes and data sources and Appendix 2 Results. You also find a short version of the result in different languages.