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How are Made with Care titles different from your other books? In what ways has your production process changed to make this possible?
We have:In what way are you pioneering the ethical and environmental publishing movement?
As an illustrated publisher we are leading the way with the quality of paper we use and the use of vegetable-based inks. We are also building charitable partnerships with non-profit conservation groups such as The Rainforest Foundation, The Coral Reef Alliance and The Nature Conservancy (Penguin Group USA).
Are you the first company to attempt environmentally conscious publishing? If not, what other companies have made the same initiative?
This is very much a joint effort to create as high a standard as possible across the illustrated publishing industry. While we are a leader in this area, it is more important to encourage good practices across the board.
Are you going to share your approach with other publishers as an example of best practice?
Absolutely! The whole purpose of this new series is not only to promote green ideas to the consumer, but to show the entire publishing industry it is possible to make a green book. There is a far higher chance of industry-wide evolution if we share experiences and solutions.
How much has DK invested in the research and development of this initiative?
A lot of time and effort has gone into the research of this program. But this time and effort to find the best practices for production have been part of a wider aim to find the best practices for all our production, not just for this initiative.
Why are you launching Made with Care now?
The Penguin FSC Chain of Custody (COC) was extended to DK in September, which allowed us to buy and sell our books using FSC paper. This has had a major impact on the timing of this project.
Isn’t this just a marketing ploy?
It’s a project in which we bring together in one place all of the understanding we have about the environmental impact of making books. It is also indicative of the expansion of our decision-making process; not only do we consider if the printer has the capacity for the work, but we look at their environmental status, and the materials they are using. It’s just as important that the customer should understand the effects of their buying choices as it is for us as a company to understand the effect of ours.
Aren’t you just jumping on the green bandwagon?
This is not about bandwagons or sound bites. Years of purchasing and production placement policies have allowed us to conduct much of our production with printers known for their social and environmental responsibility.
How can you prove that you are being ethical and socially responsible?
Proof that ethical and social claims can be backed up is important, which is why in our purchasing and our choice of printers we have chosen to apply international standards (FSC).
Aren’t you worried that by making a point about ethically and environmentally aware books with a very narrow range of titles, you will hurt the sales of those books in the DK stable that aren’t currently produced this way?
Part of this program is about communicating openly to our consumers about everything we do. We don’t believe this will have a negative impact on sales. We believe that people expect high standards from us as a company.
Isn’t the cost of making these books going to be higher? What does that mean for your profit margins in the long-term?
In theory, yes, there will be an impact on profit margins, but as with all things there will come a tipping point in commercial thresholds at which point this mode of production is so much the norm that there will no longer be justification for a surcharge.
What else are you doing to be greener?
DK is committed to maintaining the best ethical and environmental practices. As a division of Penguin Group (USA), we, along with the rest of Penguin use video conferencing facilities to hold meetings between our New York and London offices.
What is DK’s travel policy to minimize its carbon footprint?
DK is a global business and we aim only to make necessary flights. We also aim to reduce travel by an additional 10% each year. We intend to do this with the implementation of the following practices:
What is your parent company, Pearson, doing in this area?
Pearson PLC, DK’s parent company, has had a corporate environmental policy since 1992 and all of the Pearson companies are working towards a carbon neutral future. A section of Pearson’s Code of Business Conduct is devoted to the company’s social responsibility, and outlines that it work to minimize the environmental impact of its products, as well as its stance against illegal or inhumane labor practices and its support of universal human rights.
Do you work with any environmental charities/organizations?
DK has built charitable partnerships with non-profit conservation groups such as The Rainforest Foundation, The Coral Reef Alliance and the Marine Conservation Society (in the UK) whereby profits from book sales support these organizations. Additionally, Penguin Group (USA) has partnered with The Nature Conservancy in its Plant a Billion Trees campaign.
How would you like to improve the Made with Care initiative? What are its weaknesses and what are you doing to address them?
As mentioned before, this is a best practice initiative so all we’ve learned is influencing our future print buying decisions. The initiative leads us to question in more detail our suppliers’ environmental credentials, including waste management and energy usage. We’d like to make printing more affordable so that we can print more books this way going forward. We are also continuing to look for more FSC paper for more of our books, but are constrained by the amount of suitable FSC paper available for full-color printing (see question below on FSC). We are committed to investigating, on an ongoing basis, what glue and ink products are available and their relative merits and downsides.
How will you keep this initiative going?
See answers in FSC section. By the end of 2008, all suppliers will be certified with FSC chain of custody (COC) and we will continue to explore creating environmentally sound materials. We will publish more books in the Made with Care series going forward and will continue to learn and apply best practices to these books and all those we publish.
This set of titles is the logical conclusion of our awareness of environmental issues. It is not, however, a cost-effective mode of production yet, and as these books will be a progression towards improving all aspects of our impact, through production, on the environment. This series is very much a flagship of our efforts to ensure that our books adhere to social and environmental responsibility.
FSC
What does FSC stand for?
It stands for Forest Stewardship Council.
What does Forest Stewardship Council mean exactly?
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) ensures that the paper is sourced from responsibly managed forests. The paper must be from legal sources, not from an area with outstanding disputes with indigenous peoples or an area that is uncertified and of high conservation value. The paper cannot contain genetically managed material. It must be demonstrated that these standards have been met from source to end product. Therefore, the forest the pulp comes from must meet this standard and the chain of custody of that stock must be upheld until the end product is complete. In our case that’s the books but it could be for a garden chair or table or any other wood based product.
The World Wildlife Fund endorses the FSC chain of custody and forestry management standards.
Whenever we manufacture a book at a printer operating with FSC chain of custody and using FSC paper, we can label that book with the FSC logo and show that DK supports responsible forestry management.
To achieve FSC chain of custody, DK will have to prove that its production system is sophisticated enough to fully control the materials used by its printers. This will ensure that all books labeled with the FSC logo are 100% accurate.
Will there be enough FSC paper to print the vast amount of books that you will publish going forward – if your intention is to make (nearly) all of your books this way?
DK uses all of its buying power responsibly and ever-increasing proportions of paper the company buys come from FSC certified sources. However, at this stage only a small percentage of the world’s forests are covered by any certification system, and only 7% of the world’s production forests are FSC certified. This means that not all of our titles can be FSC products. It is particularly hard to find enough paper of the quality we require to print full-color books – paper quality is much more important for these than for unillustrated books. But we feel it is important to continue using what FSC stock we can, to encourage the market, making it clear that there is demand for demonstrably well-managed forest products, and in this way, to reward good forestry practice.
What kind of paper are your other books printed on?
The percentage of the DK list printed on FSC papers will increase within the next 12-18 months; the remaining books will be printed with approved suppliers, many of which produce papers using other forestry certification programs. By the end of 2008, all DK books will be printed on papers from sustainable legal sources.
PRODUCTION PROCESSES
Jackets
Why do you put jackets on your other books, as they seem to use unnecessary paper and printing?
Customers respond well to jackets, which protect book interiors and have long been a part of a hardback book’s design and format. We hope to be able to move customers away from expecting jackets, but recognize that this cannot happen overnight.
What part of your product is biodegradable?
The paper and boards are biodegradable, which make up the majority of the product.
What about your books and kits that involve plastic? Will you make these more environmentally savvy at some point?
We are using PET rather than PVC where possible and all our waste packaging is made from non-toxic and recyclable packaging materials.
Glues
What are your glues made of?
Some of your glues contain hazardous ingredients. Are your books safe?
All of the components of our books are tested to ensure that they do not contain any hazardous ingredients; the more complex books are also tested as a final product to ensure that they meet high standards of safety levels.
Inks
What sort of ink is used to print your other books?
Fortunately, there are now options for inks beyond the traditional mineral (petroleum) inks. Vegetable inks from renewable sources have developed a lot in the last few years and we have used these in some of our titles, most notably on Rainforest, published in September 2006. Different types of inks produce different results, so a large part of our choice is currently dictated by our requirements of the end product.
What are vegetable inks?
These are inks which the oil that the pigment, resins, fillers, and varnishes are dispersed in is derived from vegetable matter rather than from minerals (such as petroleum).
Are your inks biodegradable?
They are not 100% biodegradable.
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