We use cardboard packaging, brown paper stuffing and recycled tape for all orders. Currently, bubble wrap is used to ensure pristine condition of the books when they arrive with readers, and we are currently searching for a sustainable alternative.
100% of the paper we use to make our books is Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) certified - the hallmark of excellence in sustainable paper sourcing. When forests are properly managed, harvesting timber can be an effective way of safeguarding forests for future generations. That’s important given that forests support up to 1.6 billion of some of the world’s poorest people, as well as countless plant and animal species.
FSC™ is the only wood certification scheme endorsed by WWF, Greenpeace and the Woodland Trust. Certified forests must meet a range of best-in-class standards, ensuring harvested trees are replanted or allowed to regenerate naturally. FSC™ also safeguards forest biodiversity and local communities.
Working towards our goal to be climate neutral by 2030. Over the past few years we have reduced our direct carbon emissions by 65% since 2018. This includes switching to using 100% renewable energy in all our UK offices and warehouses.
However our most significant carbon footprint lies in our supply chain, in particular because of the energy intensive production process required to make paper in a paper mill. You can read a detailed breakdown of our carbon footprint here.
Over the coming years working in partnership with our suppliers with be critical to help us meet our global target to be climate neutral by 2030.
In 2020 we put in place a new robust supplier management system and Sustainable Sourcing Policy. This enables us to work more effectively with our suppliers around the world to monitor their environmental and social impact and, crucially, to focus on continuous improvement.
Within our own distribution operation in the UK we have also focused on innovating to reduce single-use plastic, eliminating nearly half of all plastics used to transport books from our warehouse to bookshops around the country. We've done this by moving to recycled (and recyclable) shredded cardboard to pad out boxes to prevent books from being damaged in transit.
Read more on Penguin Random House UK’s sustainability work here