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Hachette makes it onto the good books
Posted by jamie on 16 November 2007.
We've had some excellent news in the Book Campaign as Hachette Livre, the largest book publisher in the UK, have finally produced an environmental policy which includes some great commitments to making sure the paper they use will be forest-friendly. With imprints such as Hodder & Stoughton, Orion and Little Brown, they publish nearly one-fifth of all books sold in this country, so it's a very big deal.
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Greenpeace report reveals Hachette is buying Boreal Forest destruction
A new Greenpeace report released today reveals that Hachette USA is one of a number of North American and European corporations fueling the destruction of Canada’s Boreal Forest.
The report, 'Consuming Canada’s Boreal Forest: The chain of destruction from logging companies to consumers', details the environmentally destructive and socially unjust logging practices of Abitibi-Consolidated, Bowater and Kruger. It reveals that more than 68 per cent of the Boreal Forest under the collective management of these companies has already been degraded or fragmented – an area totalling nearly 200,000 km2 - 100 times the size of London. Hachette’s US book arm uses 'alternative book cream' paper manufactured by Abitibi consolidated, which uses pulp from intact Boreal forest areas and Caribou habitat.
Greenpeace UK Forest Campaigner, Mariana Paoli said: "The Hachette Book Group USA is contributing to the destruction of the Canadian Boreal Forest, the largest ancient forest in North America. The company must suspend its contract with Abitibi as a matter of urgency until action is taken on the ground to protect the forest and end destructive logging."
She continued, "In the UK Greenpeace is urging Hachette to follow progressive publishers in the industry and commit to phasing out all paper from dubious sources and move towards ancient forest friendly papers instead."
While other parts of the book industry are making real progress in sourcing ancient forest friendly papers, Hachette has consistently failed to act.
In the UK alone, over 40 per cent of the book industry has adopted good environmental policies – including Random House, Harper Collins, Bloomsbury and Egmont - as part of the Greenpeace Book Campaign. (1) These companies are now well on their way to phasing out fibre from ancient forest destruction and printing their books on recycled paper and paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). (2) Similar progress is being made by publishers in Canada, North America and Europe. Meanwhile, Hachette, which controls 17 per cent of the UK market alone, continues to source ancient forest fibre and has not made any similar commitment to go ancient forest friendly.
Canada’s Boreal Forest contains a quarter of the world’s remaining intact ancient forests and stores 47.5 billion tonnes of carbon in its soils and trees. It is the largest ancient forest in North America and provides habitat for threatened and endangered species such as woodland caribou, lynx, grizzly bear and wolverines. The forest is also home to nearly a million aboriginal peoples.
The report can be downloaded online.
Broadcast quality video and photos available upon request.
For more information, please contact the Greenpeace Press office on 0207 865 8255
NOTES TO EDITORS:
(1). The Greenpeace Book Campaign encourages book publishers to stop printing their paper linked to ancient forest destruction and instead to print their books on ‘ancient forest friendly’ paper. Such paper maximises post consumer recycled content with any virgin fibre coming Forest Stewardship Council certified sources.
(2) The Forest Stewardship Council certification scheme is the best way to ensure that the virgin fibre you use comes from forests that have been managed in an environmentally and socially responsible way.
Five top tips for green summer living
Posted by jossc on 26 July 2007.
Although it doesn't feel much like it we're well into summertime now, our colleagues at Greenpeace Canada have put together a list of top tips to help you 'keep it green' whatever you're doing this summer. Among other things, they've got green ideas for organic gardening, keeping party food local and sustainable, and minimising your CO2 emissions should you decide to travel.
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Forests of Europe and Russia
Great grey owls hunt in the northern forests of Finland and European Russia
There are few remaining areas of ancient forest in Europe, but most of what is left lies in the far north, in Finland, Sweden and Russia. These forests are home to tens of thousands of indigenous peoples, including the Komi, the Nenets, and the reindeer-herding Sámi. They have also ensured the survival of species such as brown bears, flying squirrels and the highly endangered eagle owl.
The Book Campaign
Tony Benn is just one of the authors supporting the Book Campaign
If you like a good read, you may be unnerved to realise many books have been printed at the expense of ancient forests, and that paper fibre can be the product of destructive or illegal logging. But don't put down your Jackie Collins just yet - the good news is that the publishing industry is gradually getting the message.
Authors: how you can help the Book Campaign
The aim of the Book Campaign is to persuade book publishers to introduce paper procurement policies which commit the company to only using ancient forest friendly paper - that is, paper that has a high recycled content with any virgin wood pulp it contains certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Forest-friendly Harry Potter praised by Greenpeace
In response to the news that millions of copies of the upcoming JK Rowling epic Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be printed on forest-friendly paper for the first time (1), Belinda Fletcher, head of Greenpeace's forest campaign, said:
"The fact that Bloomsbury is using a mix of recycled paper and paper from well managed sources means that Harry's magic will be actually helping to protect the world's ancient forests. Animals who depend on these forests - like the wolverine and flying squirrel - will be hooting their support from places as far away as Finland and Russia."
For footage of these forests, and the animals who live in them, contact the Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255.
Belinda Fletcher continued:
"By printing what promises to be another absolute publishing blockbuster on paper combining recycled and Forest Stewardship Council certified fibre, Bloomsbury are showing they mean business when they say they are going 'ancient forest friendly'."
The book will go on sale worldwide at 00.01am BST on Saturday July 21st.
Greenpeace is campaigning to get the book industry to stop sourcing paper from ancient forest regions and move towards using 100 per cent ancient forest friendly paper.
Over 40 per cent of the UK book publishing industry has now introduced ancient forest friendly paper policies - including Random House, Harper Collins, Penguin, Egmont Press and Bloomsbury - and are in the process of implementing them. Meanwhile, the biggest UK publisher Hachette has yet to introduce, let alone implement, such a policy.
POTTER FACTS
- Bloomsbury will be using forest friendly papers for the text, jackets and printed paper cases for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
- The papers will be made from a mixture of post consumer recycled pulp [such as paper that people have put into their green boxes or taken to recycling centres] and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified (2) virgin pulp.
- Bloomsbury made an initial step towards making Harry Potter forest friendly in 2005 by printing the hardback version of 'Harry Potter and the half blood prince' on a 30% FSC certified paper and printing the paperback on paper made from 50 per cent post consumer recycled paper.
- The previous book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, sold 2,009,574 copies through UK bookshops, supermarkets, internet sites, and newspapers on the first day of release, Saturday 16 July 2005.
Bloomsbury is committed to using 100 per cent recycled fibre where possible for its books - the most eco-friendly option available.
ENDS
Footnotes:
(1) Ancient forest friendly papers are those that maximise recycled content, with any virgin fibre coming from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified sources.
(2) The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the best way to ensure that forest fibre comes from environmentally and socially responsible sources. See FSC's website for more details.
For more information about the Book Campaign, photos and footage of Finnish forests, or for further information, call the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
Buying books with a clear conscience
Posted by jamie on 17 May 2007.
I get a lot of book tokens for Christmas, birthdays and the like - I read a lot so it's an easy option for a hard-to-buy-for kind of guy. But they have a habit of lurking in my wallet for months at a time, as I've got into the habit of buying second hand books. Buy books cheaply from charity shops and return them when I'm done - it's the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) all rolled into one, with a dose of charitable intentions thrown in for good measure.
The only flaw in my cunning plan is that pre-loved books don't just spontaneously appear in branches of Oxfam, they begin life as a tree in a forest somewhere. Large amounts of fresh virgin paper are required to keep the publishing industry running, and if the production of that paper is causing the destruction of large and ancient forests, those book tokens are going to remain where they are indefinitely.
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Forest-friendly Harry Potter praised by Greenpeace
In response to the news that the next Harry Potter book will be printed on forest-friendly paper, Belinda Fletcher, head of Greenpeace's forest campaign, said:
"This announcement is great news and means that Harry Potter's magic will be helping to protect the world's ancient forests. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all books printed in the UK.
"But by publishing the forthcoming books on a paper combining recycled and Forest Stewardship Council certified fibre, Bloomsbury are making good on their commitment to go ancient forest friendly."
"It's also great to hear that Bloomsbury are looking to use 100 per cent recycled fibre where possible for other books, which is the most eco friendly option available."
Greenpeace is campaigning to get the book industry to stop sourcing paper from ancient forest regions and move towards using 100 per cent ancient forest friendly paper (1).
Bloomsbury will be printing the next Harry Potter on a mixture of post consumer recycled and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified pulp (2).
Bloomsbury made an initial step towards making Harry Potter ancient forest friendly in 2005 by printing the hardback version of 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' on a 30 per cent FSC certified paper and printing the paperback on paper made from 50 per cent post consumer recycled fibre.
ENDS
- 1. Ancient forest friendly papers are those that maximise recycled content with any virgin fibre coming from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified sources.
- 2. The FSC is the only certification scheme that can ensure that the timber products you are buying come from forests that have been managed in an environmentally and socially responsible way.
For more information about the campaign call the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
Book industry is turning green but huge publisher Hachette bucks the trend
Posted by jamie on 11 December 2006.
We haven't made a lot of fuss about the Book Campaign for a while, but it's been slowly simmering in the background and the results have been pretty impressive. Publishers have been keen to adopt forest friendly policies so they use more recycled paper and paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and to date over 40 per cent of UK publishers are on the road to going green.
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