Publishers Simon & Schuster last week unveiled a new environmental strategy that will see it commit to a major increase in the amount of recycled fibre in paper used in the manufacture of its books.
The company said it will increase the amount of recycled fibre in its purchased paper to at least 25 per cent for books printed and bound in the US by 2012. Currently, just 10 per cent of the fibre in its paper is recycled.
Based on its current paper usage, Simon & Schuster estimates that the shift in purchasing policy will result in the saving of approximately 483,000 trees a year, leading to a cut in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 7,600 cars off the road each year.
The company also moved to bolster the green credentials of the new paper it uses, committing to source at least 10 per cent of its paper from FSC-certified forests by 2012, and announcing it will "endeavour to eliminate the use of paper that may contain fibre from endangered and old-growth forest areas".
Other areas of Simon & Schuster’s green initiative include: the purchase of 1.2m shipping cartons made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic; the recycling of office materials; and the implementation of energy efficiency measures in all offices and distribution centres.
Carolyn K. Reidy, who will become president and chief executive of Simon & Schuster in 2008, said that the aim of the new targets was to help create "a robust marketplace for recycled fibre" and to "encourage responsible forest management practices".
The company said that its UK operations would follow suit with a similar environmental initiative in the near future.
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