In 2019, the Guardian made a pledge in service of the planet. We declared that the escalating climate crisis was the defining issue of our lifetime, and that quality, trustworthy reporting on the environment was a vital tool to confront it. We promised to provide journalism that showed leadership, urgency, authority and give the climate emergency the sustained attention and prominence it demanded.
Two years later, we are updating our readers and supporters on our work – journalism that puts pressure on the decision-makers who hold our fate in their hands, and institutional commitments designed to ensure that we practice what we preach.
Here is our progress against our six promises.
Show your support for urgent, independent climate journalism
We will continue our longstanding record of powerful environmental reporting, known around the world for its quality and independence
In the last year we have published more than 3,000 environment stories, read by tens of millions of readers around the world. On average, we published a new environment piece every three hours. In total, readers spent a combined 538 years perusing this work.
We’ve produced urgent reportage from the frontlines in the climate crisis – the unprecedented heatwaves in the Pacific north-west of North America, deadly flooding in half a dozen countries, and the devastating wildfires in Australia and the United States.
As an independent news organisation, our reporting on the climate emergency will never be influenced by commercial or political interests. Instead we counter misinformation and sensationalism with journalism that’s always rooted in scientific fact.
We will report on how environmental collapse is already affecting people around the world, including during natural disasters and extreme weather events
We are persistent, ambitious and forward-thinking when reporting on the human consequences of the climate emergency. And we have provided a platform for more voices to be heard, from those suffering directly, to those who inspire us with their fight for a brighter future.
We have put real people’s lives at the heart of our reporting – those trying to cope with unbearable heat, unfarmable land, rising sea levels and voracious wildfires. We have also reported extensively on environmental justice: it is a travesty that marginalised and minority communities have unequal access to the world’s natural resources.
We will publish up-to-date global indicators that point to the urgency of the situation
Guardian journalism aims to foreground the data and science that gives readers an instant grasp of the situation. Throughout our Cop26 coverage we are providing a dynamic data dashboard detailing the most important climate metrics on our homepage, showing up-to-date atmospheric CO2 levels, arctic sea ice levels, and renewable electricity production in the UK.
The Guardian will eliminate two-thirds of emissions by 2030
We have undertaken annual carbon audits, and have committed to holding ourselves to the highest standards of scientifically validated emissions targets under a global initiative known as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
In 2020/21 the Guardian’s overall carbon emissions fell by around 30% compared with the previous year, and we remain on track to achieve our climate pledge of reducing overall emissions by 67% by 2030.
Looking forward, we expect our carbon emissions to continue along our overall downward trajectory as more suppliers and digital readers switch over to renewable energy. We do, however, expect to see a slight increase in emissions next year as Covid-19 restrictions ease.
We will seek to decouple our business and finances from fossil-fuel extractive companies
We took the decision early in 2020 to stop accepting advertising from fossil-fuel extractive companies, and fossil fuel-related investments now represent less than 1% of our total investments.
We will be transparent with our progress
We became the first major news organisation to become B Corp certified – committing us to globally recognised standards. We published our 2019/20 Positive Impact and Sustainability report in August, which shows our progress across a range of environmental goals as well as our wider impact on people and our communities.