The Executive’s Daily Green Briefing

November 8, 2007

Simon & Schuster Purchases Paper With More Recycled Fiber

simon-schuster-purchases-4182.jpgFor books printed and bound in the U.S., Simon & Schuster plans to increase the level of recycled fiber in its purchased paper to 25 percent or more by 2012, a 150 percent increase from a current 10 percent baseline level.

Simon & Schuster purchases approximately 70,000 tons of paper annually. At current production levels, the shift to 25 percent recycled fiber will result in saving approximately 483,000 trees annually and reducing greenhouse gases by nearly 85 million pounds, the company reports.

Simon & Schuster says it “will endeavor” to eliminate the use of paper that may contain fiber from endangered and old-growth forest areas. It has set a goal that by 2012 at least 10 percent of its purchased paper will derive from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

The company says it will also purchase shipping cartons made from 100% recycled post-consumer paper (the company expects that it will purchase 1.2 million cartons in 2007), the recycling of all inventory destruction as mixed-use paper, and the use of recycled office materials.

Simon & Schuster UK is expected to follow suit with a similar environmental policy.

You can see the company’s paper policy here.

ADVERTISERS

Join the Discussion

Comments

I congratulate Simon & Schuster for their big step. It is a bold green move!

But I was also wondering why Simon & Schuster didn’t go a little bit further and at least matched its goals with the Green Press Initiative’s Industry Treatise (Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper), already been adopted by more than 140 publishers.

Especially I’m referring to the treatise goal of “shifting the book industry’s collective average use of recycled fiber from an estimated 5% recycled average at present to a 30% recycled industry average by 2012. ”

Simon & Schuster said they’ll move to 25% by 2012 (or greater aggregate, which is a bit vague). The difference of 5% might sounds marginal, but we’re talking here about almost 100,000 trees a year!

And just to remind you, we have already one of the big publishing houses that is committed to a goal of 30% recycled paper - Random House announced last year it will incrementally increase the recycled paper content of its books to 30% by 2010.

I also hope to see Simon & Schuster going further and take responsibility for all the trees cut down to supply their paper that is not sourced out of recycled paper or certified forests (FSC). Even on 2012, it will total to more than 1.5 million trees a year!

All in all, it’s a great day to all the eco-conscious book lovers out there, and I look forward to reading more news from the book industry that will start like this : “Simon & Schuster, Inc., and its employees are committed to publishing in a manner that both respects the environment and helps to preserve the world’s great forest regions for the use and pleasure of future generations. ”

Raz Godelnik
Eco-Libris
http://www.ecolibris.net

Today's News

False Economies

False Economies

Thanks to the sub-prime crisis and issues like the global credit crunch, many economies are in poor shape. Oil prices are continuing ... continue »

‘Shovel Ready’ Stimulus – Projects That Should Be Supported
Going Green Starts with Design
How Business Influences Climate Change Policy
Is The ‘Green’ In Green IT Dead? No, Because It Was Never Really Alive
Retailers Find Environmental Concerns Playing Larger Role In Reputation

Retailers Find Environmental Concerns Playing Larger Role In Reputation

Retailers have entered a new age of corporate citizenship in which not only working conditions but environmental impacts of production and products ...

click to view full size chart »

LOHAS Consumers Drive Charitable Donations
UN: CDM Increasing Emission-Saving Initiatives, Critics Disagree
CSR Reporting Efforts: Electronics, Financial, and Metals
Air New Zealand Completes Flight Powered By Jatropha Biofuel

Air New Zealand Completes Flight Powered By Jatropha Biofuel

Air New Zealand utilized a biofuel blend of 50:50 jatropha and Jet A1 fuel to power one of the Air New Zealand Boeing ...

click to view video »

Autodesk Green Design Software
Is Sustainability A Fad Or Here To Stay?
China’s Recycling Rate Plummets
The Bottom Line

Marketing

Greenwash Brigade Looks Back At 2008

Green Business 2008 - Environmental Leader’s Most Popular Stories

StubHub To Plant a Tree For Every Ticket Bought For NFL Post-Season

Emissions

Iowa Council Suggests Ways To Cut Emissions 90% By 2050

Dirty Coal A Likely Winner in 2009

Grand Canyon Visitors Center Taps Sun for Power

Hi-Tech

Connecticut DEP To Finalize Details of Statewide ‘E-waste’ Program

Speedy ROI with Quick Green IT Fixes

IT Leaders’ Green-Tech Predictions for 2009

Efficiency

Restaurants To Become ‘Greener,’ Offer More Local Produce In 2009

‘Smaller is Better’ Movement to Progress in 2009

Lenovo Meets, Exceeds EPA Energy Star Criteria Ahead of Deadline

Manufacturing

WSJ Slams Dell Over Carbon Neutral Claim

Product Stewardship Policy Gains Support

Rio Tinto Likely To Receive Free Carbon Permits Worth $462M in 2010

Carbon Offsets/RECs

Japan Airlines Jumps on Carbon Offset Bandwagon

SFO Kiosks To Sell Carbon Offsets

Critics: Bentley’s Plan To Cut CO2 With Ethanol Flawed

CSR Reports

Bombardier Meets 5-Yr Reduction Targets

CSR Reporting Efforts: Electronics, Financial, and Metals

Sustainable Silicon Valley Members Cut CO2 Emissions 27%

Major Players

McDonald’s To Rollout Energy Efficient Systems

Wind Not Quite Enough to Fill Staples’ Sails

False Economies

See All Topics »