Pan Macmillan Sustainability and Sourcing Policy
At Pan Macmillan we understand and value our role as a global citizen. We see the importance of conducting our business in a responsible and sustainable manner and the value that we can have in influencing sustainable behaviours. We see our key impacts as being in the following areas and have designed our sustainability programme around them.
Carbon
Climate change is one of the foremost issues of our age. At Macmillan we have been measuring our global carbon footprint since 2010. Since 2017 we have offset all unavoidable CO2 emissions through compensation projects. We can see that the bulk of our emissions are created within the supply chain, in printing, transport and in particular by paper, with paper choices already having played a part in the reduction of emissions.
We have made significant reductions to our carbon footprint, but it is important that we continue to look for ways to further reduce our footprint. The papers in our colour books are beautiful and complex products made by experts in their fields, they also require a lot of energy in their production. We work closely with our business partners to understand how we can jointly achieve further reductions in CO2 emissions in the supply chain
Forest sources
Our paper choices have a direct impact on the health and vitality of forests. We ensure that plants, animals and the people that live and work in forests are protected by choosing FSC® papers. We are FSC certified and have been using FSC papers for over a decade, and as our understanding of our supply chains impact on biodiversity and land rights increases so has the depth of our response to the issue. Through the Book Chain Project we are able to see the multiple forest sources that make up a single paper, these forest sources are individually assessed for sustainability and we have visibility of the species, country and area from which the trees were harvested. All of this information allows us to choose papers from forest sources that support the environment.
For further information on these topics please see our environmental policy here.
Collaboration
Working collaboratively with printers, mills and other publishers has been vital to driving real change within our industry. By working collectively through the Book Chain Project we are able to access information on carbon and paper forest sources, as well as water stress levels, wastage rates and material use for elements such as ink, glue and cover finishes. This transparency in the supply chain has enabled real conversations about what sustainability looks like in practice, supporting communication between publishers and suppliers about what we as an industry hope to achieve.
Holmen are one of our key paper suppliers and have played an important role in reducing our carbon footprint. Since 2005 Holmen have reduced their use of fossil fuels by 86%, they have their own renewable energy generation facilities, and their mills supply thermal energy into local communities.
All our printers are FSC certified and one of our key printers, CPI, has printed entirely on FSC materials since 2015. CPI use renewable energy at all their sites, and increasingly our printers are lowering their emissions by moving towards renewable energy.
Transportation is also a significant contributor to our environmental impact. Our transport agents continually monitor emissions, are investigating alternative fuel options, and will support us in reducing our footprint through consolidation and alternative transport modes.
Our books
The books we publish are a key way in which we can foster greater understanding and connection with nature, and encourage socially and environmentally sustainable behaviours. These are just a few of the books we are proud of.
Goals
These are the goals that we have put in place to help us address all these issues.
- Refine the map of our colour paper carbon footprint – by the end of 2024
- Reduce our colour paper carbon footprint by 50% by 2030 (2010 base year)
- Maintain use of low carbon monoprint papers
- Maintain 100% levels of FSC® papers
Pan Macmillan: FSC License Code: FSC-C116313 (1.2)