Publishing Declares, a sustainability pledge from across the industry has been launched today by the Publishers Association.
The purpose of Publishing Declares is to raise awareness of the sustainability issues most relevant to the UK book and journal publishing industry; to aid the discovery of existing tools and resources and to inspire action that results in sustained behaviour change.
The signatories pledge to:
- Join the global climate effort to limit warming to 1.5°C by setting ambitious, measurable targets across our own operations and extended supply chain to achieve net zero as soon as possible and by 2050 at the latest.
- Protect nature and biodiversity, working with supply chain partners that are resource efficient, use sustainable materials and processes wherever possible in the content we produce, and constantly innovating to make use of new and recycled materials.
- Collaborate with our peers, authors, illustrators, supply chain partners, and business partners to translate our climate aspirations and commitments into tangible actions to safeguard our planet for future generations.
- Empower our colleagues to become climate literate and support them to bring that knowledge into the work that they do.
- Use our expertise, platform, and voice to raise awareness and drive positive climate action wherever we can.
The pledge is the first project in an ongoing scheme of work which will also include a report, carbon calculator and a materials index. The Publishers Association established a working group in February 2020 representing a cross-section of the book and journal publishing industry to develop this work, convening this cohort of 30 publishing businesses regularly to understand their collective material risks and greatest potential for positive action. Carnstone Partners – a business consultancy specialising in sustainability – were commissioned to work with the association and its members to develop the pledge.
Stephen Lotinga, Chief Executive of the Publishers Association, said:
“We are thrilled to be launching Publishing Declares and it is heartening that so many businesses have signed up as founding members. We encourage organisations from across the industry to add their signatures to the pledge and join with us to work towards a more sustainable future.
“Sustainability is a hugely important area of work and although there are many publishing companies working on excellent initiatives, there is real power in us coming together as an industry to make this pledge.”
Organisations can sign up to the pledge at publishingdeclares.com.
SRL Publishing is an award-winning, climate positive book publishing company. In 2019 they partnered with Rainforest Trust and donated book sales which helped them save between 500,000 – 750,000 trees in Peru from deforestation. Since June 2020 they have been planting trees and have planted over 3,600 trees in Madagascar and helped with over 60 tonnes of Carbon Reduction through supporting projects in Haiti, Istanbul, Uruguay, India, and Columbia.
