HarperCollins UK has made significant progress in its environmental efforts over the past two and a half years, including reducing its own energy use, working with suppliers to use more sustainable paper in its books and using its portfolio of titles to engage with consumers on climate and energy issues.
HarperCollins UK will take this important step as part of parent company News Corporation’s Global Energy Initiative, a company-wide effort to help solve the climate problem by reducing the carbon emissions of its own operations and engaging with employees, business partners and audiences.
In July HarperCollins UK consulted the Carbon Trust and went on to develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing its impact on the environment. As part of this strategy, the company has begun measuring its carbon footprint annually. The company follows the Greenhouse Gas Protocol established by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the standard manual for measuring greenhouse gas emissions.
HCUK’s carbon footprint for fiscal year 2006 was 9,713 metric tons of CO2 equivalents. By focusing on reducing its electricity and gas consumption, cutting business air travel and curbing fleet mileage, the carbon footprint for fiscal year 2007 has dropped by 8% to 8,977 metric tons of CO2 equivalents.
To reach carbon neutral – net zero carbon emissions – News Corporation has invested in renewable energy projects that reduced an amount of carbon from the atmosphere equivalent to HCUK’s unavoidable emissions. These carbon offsets come from a portfolio of wind energy projects in India. The carbon reductions were verified by an independent expert third party and the projects were certified under the Voluntary Carbon Standard, a standard developed by the Climate Group, the International Emissions Trading Association, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
HCUK will continue to work hard on lowering emissions. In July 2007, the company entered into a contract to source green electricity (from 100% renewable sources). This power is provided by SWALEC and is made up of 41.3% biomass, 29.6% hydro, 18.4% landfill gas, 8.5% on-shore wind, 2.1% mines gas, 0.1% municipal and industrial gas. This switch to renewable power sources will have a significant impact on the carbon footprint of the business in fiscal 2008.
Victoria Barnsley, CEO and Publisher, says: “While we’re still just at the beginning of our environmental journey, I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made to our own operations this year. We’re all tremendously proud to take our operations carbon neutral but are well aware that the hard work doesn’t stop here. We are committed to further reducing our own impact and will continue to seek out popular and commercially successful books that address these issues.”
Some of HCUK’s environmental highlights of 2007 include:-
∞ Across the year, HCUK published several books that covered energy and climate related subjects, such as:-
- Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas
- Collins Gem Carbon Counter by Mark Lynas
- Saving Planet Earth by Tony Juniper
- Disappearing World by Alonzo Addison
- The Organic Garden by Allan Shepherd
∞ All drinking water in the London office has been bottled on site since March. A filtration system has been installed and all cooler bottles are filled in house. In addition, plastic cups have been replaced with glasses.
∞ In March, the London office switched to more environmentally-friendly taxis, including carbon neutral taxis from Addison Lee.
∞ In April, HCUK became the first major UK trade publisher to appoint a full-time Corporate Responsibility Manager, Ashley Lodge, to oversee all aspects of its environmental and charitable initiatives. Lodge had previously been a commissioning editor in the Education Division and coordinated HCUK’s in-house environmental projects as its ‘Green Guru’ since March 2006. He also chairs the recently-formed industry-wide Publishers’ Green Network.
∞ At the Booksellers Association Conference in May, HCUK CEO and Publisher Victoria Barnsley unveiled exclusive research revealing an overwhelming 94% of UK book-buyers worry about what’s happening to the environment and 75% think more books should be printed on environmentally-friendly paper. Of the 1500 people surveyed, 84% said they'd choose a book on recycled paper over one on normal paper, and one third are prepared to pay more for an environmentally friendly book – 42% of those people are willing to pay £1 extra and 14% are willing to pay up to £2 more. When given an informed choice, FSC paper was the preferred paper type among survey respondents.
∞ In July, Fourth Estate, an imprint of HCUK, began printing all of its titles on 100% recycled paper, with Blue Angel environmental accreditation. Blue Angel is one of the world's first and most respected environmental accreditation programmes. This high-quality recycled paper is made from 100% post-consumer waste and has been manufactured according to stringent quality controls.
∞ Also in July, Green Ambassadors were appointed at each of the company’s three sites to form a Green Team to coordinate environmental initiatives at a local level. This Green Team has helped to increase levels of recycling as well as to reinforce the switch-off campaign. A ‘Think Green’ website was created for employees to record their eco-friendly actions, with the best performers winning prizes on a quarterly basis.
∞ At the end of September, HCUK began printing its mass-market fiction list on FSC paper. Together with its monochrome hardbacks and trade paperbacks and four- colour titles, all of which are already printed on FSC, HCUK now has a larger proportion, approximately 55%, of FSC titles than any other UK publisher.
∞ HCUK was the only publisher in 2007 to form a partnership with the FSC to create a new consumer logo to appear on the back cover of all its FSC books. The website link on the new logo provides more information about the partnership and what FSC accreditation means.
Notes to editors:-
∞ HCUK’s carbon footprint was measured by ICF International for fiscal 2006 and by Clear Carbon Consulting for fiscal 2007. The analysis was verified by independent expert third-party Environmental Resources Trust for fiscal 2006 and will go through the same verification for fiscal 2007.
; ∞ In the measurement of its carbon footprint, HCUK included all Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. From Scope 3, HCUK included all business air travel.
∞ Since June 2001, HCUK’s packaging and distribution centre in Glasgow has been accredited with ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management. As part of this it’s committed to continually improving waste management practices, including recycling and energy conservation.
∞ For more information on News Corporation’s Global Energy Initiative please visit www.newscorp.com/energy
Issued by: Susanna Frayn Communications Manager 020 8307 4133