Hanna Pihkola, Research Scientist at VTT (Finland), reports about results of a project evaluating environmental impacts of newspapers, life-cycle assessment, and carbon footprint.
Her conclusion is: Life-cycle environmental impacts related to newspapers can be
reduced by decreasing the quantities of energy and materials used in the process (energy and material efficiency!). Also, the minimizing the amount of paper disposed in landfills is important. In addition to climate change, other environmental impacts must be considered: Carbon footprint alone is not enough. According to the LCIA results, the eutrophication impact should not be neglected.
