Macmillan Publishers « Publishing gets green

SFI Forest Partners Program

Posted on May 2, 2014 Updated on May 9, 2014

In 2012, Time Inc., National Geographic Society and, worth noting, Macmillan Publishers and Pearson became official SFI Founding Forest Partners, having an ambitious ecological aim in mind: to certify 5 million acres (2 million hectares) of forests to the SFI standards by 2014, and 5 million more acres (2 million hectares) by the end of 2017, across the United States and Canada.

The program involves “five-year commitments to increase the source of certified forest products” and working collectively and closely with SFI to make certification more widely accessible (for example, by providing resources for “consulting expertise, group certification and audit coordination”).

The program also requires that partners work in conjunction with professionals from the whole supply chain of production – landowners, manufacturers, distributors, governmental organisations, environmental groups and even customers, in order to increase the area of certified forest. According to SFI, only 10% of the world’s forest is certified.

So why did I consider this program particularly interesting, from a book publishing perspective?

First, because it links market leaders of the publishing industry with other stakeholders, suppliers and merchants, who are the main partners of publishers on every book production process;
Second, it proves that publishers can be one step ahead in green initiatives, acting as responsible corporate citizens;
Lastly, it shows how brand recognised publishers can also be used as a “call to arms” in important ecological questions.

This entry was posted in Green Initiatives and tagged Corporate Social Responsibility, Green Policies, Macmillan Publishers, Pearson, SFI, Sustainable Forest Management.

SFI – Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Posted on April 30, 2014 Updated on May 9, 2014

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is an independent, non-profit organisation that certifies forests and lands in the USA and Canada. Launched in 1994 by the American Forest and Paper Association, it is internationally recognised and endorsed by PEFC.

Like FSC and PEFC, SFI promotes responsible forest management, issuing CoC certifications. Similarly to others councils, their certified products are properly labelled.

Even if specialised in American forestry, SFI got my attention for the impact of its program SFI Forest Partners, which has the cooperation of two renowned and influential groups in the publishing industry: Macmillan Publishers and Pearson. Please read more here.

Image credit: Lydony

This entry was posted in Officially Green, Organisations and tagged American Forest and Paper Association, Green Policies, Macmillan Publishers, Paper, Pearson, SFI, Sustainable Forest Management, USA, Wood.

PREPS – Publishers’ Database for Responsible Environmental Paper Sourcing

Posted on April 30, 2014 Updated on May 9, 2014

PREPS is a joint initiative of 23 publishers from all around the world. It was established in 2006 to provide to its members a better understanding of papers resources and responsible paper practices. Its current members are:

Cambridge University Press
Cappelen Damm
Chronicle Books
Egmont UK
Hachette UK
HarperCollins
Imago
Laurence King
Macmillan
McGraw-Hill Education
Meld
Oxford University Press
Parragon
Pearson Education
Penguin Group UK
Random House
Reed Elsevier
Sage Publications
Scholastic
Simon & Schuster
Usborne Books
Walker Books
Wiley

The group is an evolution of an idea initially developed by Egmont UK, who created in 2003 a Grading System now known as the PREPS Grading System. Drawn by the project, 10 publishers then launched PREPS in 2006: Egmont, Imago, Walker, Usborne Books, Hachette, Pearson, Reed Elsevier, Penguin, Sage and HarperCollins.

The group developed a database with technical specification of the woods, wood fibre, pulps and respective forest sources of the papers used by each one of them, as well as data on the CO2 emissions and water consumption of the paper mills with whom they work.

The PREPS Grading System is based on this information and is provided by paper mills. Every time that one of the 23 members wants to use a new type of paper, a request is sent to PREPS Secretariat (run by a management consultancy specialised in Corporate Responsibility), that then asks for information about the paper to the corresponding mill. The information returns, being added to PREPS database and graded according to the PREPS Grading System, on a range from 1 to 5 stars. Usually the paper is awarded as 1, 3 of 5, meaning:

Grade 1: Paper containing unknown or undesirable forest sources
Grade 3: Paper where all the forest sources are known, legal, low risk or either FSC or PEFC accredited
Grade 5: Paper which is FSC or 100% PEFC accredited or 100% PCW

PREPS also organises meetings and seminars, keeping the dialogue between publishers and paper manufacturers up to date. In 2012, PREPS access was additionally extended to printers. I believe this is an expression of a general willingness in book publishing, and specifically of these 23 publishing houses, to work closer with suppliers, so that more sustainable, green-certified products, can be provided to book buyers around the world.

Images credit: PREPS

This entry was posted in Groups, Officially Green and tagged Cappelen Damm, Chronicle Books, Corporate Social Responsibility, CUP, Egmont, Hachette, HarperCollins, Imago, Laurence King, Macmillan Publishers, McGraw-Hill, Meld, OUP, Paper, Parragon, Pearson, Penguin, PREPS, Random House, Reed Elsevier, Sage, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Usborne Books, Walker Books, Wiley.