Making our Books Green with the FSC - Green Penguin

�Climate change is worth fighting� George Monbiot, Heat

Making our Books Green with the FSC

The FSC
Penguin's biggest impact on the environment comes from our use of paper (though it may surprise you to know that book manufacture only accounts for 2% of world paper use). For a number of years Penguin has sought responsible paper sourcing and in June 2006 we announced that by the end of the year we would print all our monochrome hardback and trade paperback titles on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. The FSC guarantees that the paper comes from environmentally and socially responsible sources.

At this time FSC accreditation is much harder to come by for colour and mass paperback titles, but Penguin is working with the World Wildlife Fund to explore new opportunities. Our progress on this pressing issue will be reported here soon.

A Penguin Wood
Penguin planted the first of more than 40,000 trees at the launch of the Penguin Wood at Botany Bay, near Linton in south Derbyshire on Friday 19 January 2007.

This 96-acre site is being developed in partnership with the Woodland Trust, the UK's biggest charity dedicated solely to saving woods. The new woodland is the result of a new approach to woodland creation with a mixture of seeds and saplings planted at the site resulting in over 40,000 trees over the next five years. There will also be pockets of wildflower meadow and grassland left to regenerate at nature's pace, making the wood rich in wildlife.

The site will be used to host further planting days for local school children and the community.

Penguin CEO John Makinson says:
"Penguin is proud to be partnered with the Woodland Trust to develop the Penguin Wood which will deepen our commitment to the environment by putting back some of the trees we use to create our books as well as create a place for future generations to enjoy."

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