Analysis on carbon footprint: A Case Study of Gorkhapatra National Daily in Nepal a < a b Anukram Sharma , , Khem N Poudyal and Nawraj Bhattarai aDepartment of Applied Science and Chemical Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, Nepal bDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, Nepal ARTICLEINFO Abstract Article history Study of carbon footprint is an emerging field which provides statistical analysis about the : contribution of an activity on global climate change. Every human activity in daily life is Received 27 Dec 2020 achieved at the expense of those substances which directly or indirectly contribute to global Received in revised form warming. In this era of global communication, humans are habitual to know about the 29 Jan 2021 ongoing changes in the world. Newspapers are one of the reliable sources for getting updated Accepted 07 Feb 2021 about the global information. Paper-based newspapers come at the cost of greenhouse gas emissions. So, this article based upon an analysis of carbon footprint of Nepal’s national daily newspaper provides evaluation of each of the following: carbon emission during the Keywords: manufacturing of raw materials, carbon emission from fuel consumption during transportation of raw materials, carbon emissions during the printing of newspaper and carbon emission Newspaper from the fuel consumption during the transportation of printed newspaper. During the study Climate Change period of 2019 A.D., the result shows that the total carbon emission of Gorkhapatra newspaper Carbon Emission was 2213.1 kg CO2e per ton for scenario I and 2308.5 kg CO2e per ton for scenario II. The Carbon Footprint upshot of this study provides not only thorough information about carbon emissions but also Fuel Consumption builds a foundation for calculation of carbon emissions from paper used in various sectors. ©JIEE Thapathali Campus, IOE, TU. All rights reserved 1. Introduction activities across the globe in the form of paper also come in expense of a significant amount of greenhouse gas Climate change is the most significant challenge for emissions. achieving sustainable development in human society. Extensive utilization of fossil fuels which lead to the Newspapers are almost useful for only a short period of emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has time and are often dumped into waste bins after reading already shown its effect in the form of global warming once. Municipal solid waste in Nepal is composed of and climate change. The IPCC Special Report on global 16~ paper and paper products which include 9~ of ◦ warming of 1.5 C has already mentioned that keeping household waste, 45~ of institutional wastes and 23~ ◦ global warming below 1.5 C above the pre-industrial of commercial waste [2]. Papers are made at the cost of level is only feasible if there is large reduction in the chopping down a large amount of trees. The quantity of greenhouse gas emissions [1]. Efforts have been made carbon in the biomass can vary from 35 to 65 percent to evaluate, analyze, and reduce the carbon emissions of the dry weight (generally 50 percent is taken as a from combustion of fossil fuels from industries and default value) [3]. Plants help to modulate the carbon automobiles. In addition to industries and automobiles, dioxide in our atmosphere. Harvesting trees to produce many activities performed by humans daily can also newspapers has a direct and notable contribution to generate carbon emissions. Among them newspapers climate change. According to the International Panel that humans use to gather information about ongoing on Climate Change (IPCC), forestry and deforestation < are responsible for as much as 25 percent of the world’s Corresponding author: human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. [email protected] (A. Sharma) Analysis of carbon footprint refers to the measurement A. Sharma et al. / JIEE 2021, Vol. 4, Issue 1. Page 42 Analysis on carbon footprint: A Case Study of Gorkhapatra National Daily in Nepal of absolute global amount of carbon dioxide and other assessment of the daily and weekly magazine is done GHGs attributed by a human activity or accumulated in Germany [16]. Similarly, the life cycle assessment over a life cycle of a product or service. The life cycle of printing and writing paper is done in Portugal [17]. concept of the carbon footprint refers to all possible Research show that the life cycle assessment of the news- causes that give rise to carbon emissions during a pro- paper is highly affected by the source of energy used in cess or service. Usually, a carbon footprint is expressed the pulp to paper manufacturing. The published articles in terms of CO2 equivalent, which accounts for the same demonstrate that the use of renewable or green energy global warming effects of other greenhouse gases [4]. in Europe contributes less GHG emissions compared Carbon footprints can either consider only direct emis- to Northern America and China. Also, the percentage sions or can also include indirect emissions while per- of recycling of the pulp or paper also contributes to forming any action or producing any product. reducing the GHG emissions. Researches has been carried out all over the world to Though the many research is being carried out for esti- analyze the carbon footprint of paper using life cycle mating carbon footprint of paper in different parts of Eu- assessment (LCA), a powerful tool for environmental rope and Northern America, research is yet to be carried impact quantification. More than hundreds of studies out to analyze the life cycle assessment of the newspaper, have been published regarding the different processes in the context of Nepal. This research tries to account of pulp and paper making in different countries which the emissions in the transportation of printed newspaper includes paper making in Portuguese pulp and paper to readers. Further recycling of aluminum plates is not industry [5] evaluating chemical, mechanical and bio- practiced in the Gorkhapatra, which can almost reduce pulping processes and their sustainability characteriza- the waste generation to about 51 percent if recycled [18]. tion in Canada [6], forestry processes in comparative The raw materials are imported from the neighboring case study in Sweden and Spain [7] and wastewater countries in Nepal which ultimately increases the car- treatment in terms of wastepaper recycling in Spain bon footprint due to long distance transportation. Also, [8]. GHG emissions from paper making varies from much research have eliminated the accountings of GHG nations and within regions. Most of the cases in China emissions during the delivery of newspaper to readers are found to be at higher emission zones, which ac- due to difficulty in tracing actual distribution pattern. counts over 1500 kg CO2e per ton of paper. In one case The distribution of printed newspaper over geographi- about 2300 kg CO2e per ton was used to produce coated cally complicated roads is also very challenging. The white board by utilization of woodchips and wastepaper recycling of the newspaper is in insignificant amounts [9]. Wood Kraft pulp used to produce tissue paper in where the used newspapers are disposed to landfills or Spain was found to consume 1875 kg CO2e where pulp burnt. Assessment of carbon emissions from paper- was imported from other European countries and South based newspapers in Nepal will itself be a novelty due America [10]. Kraft liner paper in Brazil was found to geographical divergence, minimum recycling culture, to use only 461 kg CO2e after modernization of boiler and long-distance transportations. In addition, the re- from 936 kg CO2e before modernization [11]. The vari- search will be insightful on the various activities like use ation is GHG emissions from one country to another of efficient equipment and techniques to reduce emis- is due to the variation in the amount of electricity in- sions, reducing unnecessary power consumptions and volved in processing, transportation of raw materials, promoting the culture of recycling. technologies adopted, etc. In recent years, research has been more focused in ana- 2. Material and methods lyzing the carbon emissions during the printing of news- 2.1. Overview paper and comparing them with proper alternatives or An economic survey done by the governmental body reduction potential by using advanced technologies. Re- of Nepal has shown that there are a total 705 registered search has been carried out in India by Rohit Gupta to daily newspapers in Nepal [19]. Aiming to calculate analyze the carbon footprint of the newsprint industry the carbon footprint of a national daily newspaper in using process analysis and Environmental input-output Nepal, it is necessary to define a specific newspaper model [12]. Also, the research has been carried out to that will be taken as the basis of analysis for the calcu- analyze the effectiveness of electronic invoicing over the lation. This study is entirely based on the case study paper invoicing in terms of carbon emission reduction of Gorkhapatra national daily newspaper. Gorkhapatra by Maija Tenhunen in Finland [13]. Carbon footprint is a Nepali-language broadsheet newspaper published of copying paper is also done in China [14]. The life and distributed daily in Nepal. Gorkhapatra is one of cycle assessment for printed newspapers is also done the oldest national daily newspapers in Nepal which is in Northwestern Mexico [15]. A comparative life cycle run by Gorkhapatra Sansthan. Gorkhapatra established A. Sharma et al. / JIEE 2021, Vol. 4, Issue 1. Page 43 Analysis on carbon footprint: A Case Study of Gorkhapatra National Daily in Nepal its printing as a weekly newspaper in 1901 A.D. and Scope for accounting greenhouse gases later reformed its version as daily newspaper in 1961 A.D. In year 2019 A.D. Gorkhapatra publication was Identification of all the emission sources printing its newspaper from two publication house lo- cated at Kathmandu and Biratnagar.