Green publishing
areas you can make the biggest difference
in,’ he advised other publishers.
A harder task for a publisher of travel
books was the issue of travel itself. Sawday
conceded that the company has not really
found the answer to discouraging people
from driving to work, although it has car-
sharing schemes and a number of ways to
encourage cycling to work.
For the process of compiling the travel
books, the company has a fuel-efficient
car that is powered with recycled chip fat.
Sawday said that this reduces emissions by
approximately 75 per cent compared with
the average car. The company also avoids
air travel where possible and practical and
double offsets its emissions when it does
have to fly somewhere.
Beyond these issues, there are the
challenges of compiling print books. Alistair
Sawday’s uses recycled or PEFC/FSC
certified paper and vegetable inks. It also
uses a local printing firm. Such choices do
have consequences, of course. ‘We estimate
that we could save 30 per cent if we printed
in the Far East on virgin paper with oil-
based inks,’ commented Sawday.
The company has also turned down
business opportunities that do not fit with
its environmental standpoint. For example,
although its main subject area is travel, it
does not accept advertising from airlines.
However, there are business benefits,
as well as environmental ones, in taking
The eco-offices of Alistair Sawday’s Publishing include solar thermal water heating, solar pipes, plenty of insulation and
even a pig to eat up leftover food scraps.
a ‘green’ approach. For example, Sawday
pointed out that Alistair Sawday’s is saving
that few people would choose to drive from was in running its offices. As Sawday money on running its buildings since
Europe to China, for example. explained, ‘they were old and draughty, with they were redesigned. Developing green
oil-fired heating, but they were rented so we credentials also helps with staff retention
A green experience had little control over them. We decided and with the company’s reputation.
Alistair Sawday’s Publishing has looked that the only way we could make a real ‘There’s an alternative for almost
at many of these issues in its attempt to change was by owning our own building.’ everything, such as green cleaning
be a ‘green publisher’. As Toby Sawday The company then worked on improving companies and green taxi firms. It is also
pointed out at the conference, ‘if decisions the building by adding better insulation, important to look at where your money sits
and concerns such as Fair Trade and the removing the drafts, adding a solar thermal and what impact that has,’ said Sawday. ‘We
environment drive us at home, why do we water heater, and using sun pipes for lighting are a small company, but we are part of a
leave them behind when we go to work?’ and a heating system based on wood chips. growing movement of publishers making
He said that the company had always ‘We have brought our heating costs down to green demands on the supply chain.’
sourced green energy, recycled, encouraged next to nothing,’ said Sawday. This session provoked considerable
car sharing and sourced locally-produced The company also turned some of its car park discussion over the lunchtime that followed
Fair Trade or organic products, but realised into an allotment that staff can grow produce it. Many delegates asked if scholarly
that everyone has personal blind spots. For in during their lunchtimes. There is even a pig publishers could do more to have a positive
this reason, the company commissioned an that eats leftovers from the canteen. impact on the environment, with the help of
environmental audit. Sawday noted that these changes were a organisations such as ALPSP in promoting
This audit revealed that one of the fairly easy starting point and were good for peer support and providing case studies that
company’s biggest environmental impacts staff engagement. ‘Don’t be shy to pick the are specific to this sector.
www.researchinformation.info Research Information December 2008/January 2009 17
RIdec08 pp16-17 Green.indd 17 17/11/08 16:55:14
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