The Greening of CNN and Time Warner

Watching Anderson Cooper stomping around on a shrinking glacier last night, a question occurred to me: What's Time Warner doing about its carbon emissions?

I was in the audience for a preview screening of Planet in Peril, a new CNN documentary about various threats to the environment, which will air Oct. 23 and 24. Surely, I thought, the company that bankrolled this very worthy film must be at least as committed to curbing greenhouse gas emissions as Rupert Murdoch, who has pledged to make News Corp. carbon-neutral by 2010.

So I phoned up Time Warner spokesman Ed Adler to ask if and when his company will do the same. Here's his answer:

"We expect to complete a carbon footprint analysis shortly that will look at facilities and business travel. In a company like this, that's where you can make an impact. We believe these two areas represent a significant area of our footprint. Once we analyze that, we can understand our usage and the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with it, and then we'll use that to set our goals for reduction."

Adler said Time Warner is "also looking at some of our larger supply chains," including those for Warner Bros. DVDs and Time Inc. magazines, for possible emissions reductions.

"Internally," he added, "we're about to launch an environmental awareness campaign to inspire action among our employees."

So: No carbon-neutral pledge just yet, but a pretty good start. And CNN's doing even better: David Doss, senior executive producer of Anderson Cooper 360, told me that Planet in Peril was conceived as a carbon-neutral production -- a major proposition, considering all the air travel necessary to achieve the doc's globe-spanning scope. "We've already done the buybacks," he says.

Related: TVNewser's coverage of the screening.