Major UK children's publisher goes 'ancient forest friendly'

Kensuke's Kingdom: cover detail

Greenpeace today (24th August 2005) welcomed a double announcement by UK publisher Egmont Press to both 'green' its book production and to publish its first book printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The award-winning Kensuke's Kingdom by former Childrens Laureate and author, Michael Morpurgo, due out in September, has both the text paper and book cover printed on a paper carrying the FSC mixed sources logo (1). The FSC logo is the only way you can ensure that the virgin fibre used in the paper comes from environmentally and socially responsible sources.

This move formalises Egmonts continued work in this area and shows its commitment towards its new paper policy which was also announced today. The paper policy confirms the companys ongoing progress towards phasing out paper from ancient and endangered forests and towards ancient forest friendly solutions like recycled and FSC certified paper for all of its books. Egmont has developed this policy in partnership with its consultants Acona and with the support of the Greenpeace Book Campaign.

Cally Poplak, Director of Egmont Press said, "Egmont Press is about turning writers into successful authors and children into passionate readers - producing books that enrich and entertain. However, we feel that to be a responsible childrens publisher, we must go even further, which for us means considering the world our consumers are growing up in and making sure that the fantastic books we publish are printed on environmentally responsible paper."

Belinda Fletcher, Greenpeace Forest Campaigner said, "Both Egmont's new procurement policy and the printing of Michael Morpugo's book on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper are very positive steps forward for the UK publishing industry in moving towards environmentally and socially responsible paper sourcing. We very much hope other childrens publishers will follow Egmonts lead."

Egmont's announcement follows a growing trend amongst UK book publishers to respond to the sourcing issues raised by the Greenpeace Book Campaign. The campaign encourages publishers to maximise recycled content in their books and to ensure any virgin fibre comes from FSC certified sources.

Since the launch of the campaign two of the largest UK publishing houses, Pearson, who own Penguin, and Random House have both adopted procurement policies that commit them to moving towards ancient forest friendly paper sourcing.

Moreover an increasing number of books are printed on recycled or FSC certified paper, including 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince', released in July, on a 30% FSC certified paper.

UK authors supporting the campaign include Anne Fine, JK Rowling, Helen Fielding, Philip Pullman, Jacqueline Wilson, John OFarrell, Ben Elton, Penny Vincenzi, Charlotte Bingham, Andy McNab, John King and Ian Rankin. They are part of a network of 200 authors world-wide encouraging their publishers to print their books on ancient forest friendly paper.

Editors' notes

1. FSC Mixed Sources Label.
   
   Products with a Mixed Sources label support the development of responsible forest management worldwide. Under the Mixed Sources program, wood comes from FSC certified forests, controlled sources and/or post consumer recycled material. Controlled sources exclude illegally harvested timber, forests where high conservation values are threatened, genetically modified organisms, violation of peoples civil and traditional rights and wood from forests harvested for the purpose of converting the land to plantations or other non-forest use.

Further information

Contact the Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8255 or Alison Kennedy at Egmont Press on 0207 761 3500

Click here to download Egmont's paper policy in a PDF file format.