We know that books aren’t the most ecologically sound items on earth, production of paper uses a lot of water, wood* and power. Deliveries use petrol or diesel although some delivery companies are moving to electric vehicles. And so it goes. But once produced, a book lasts a good while, potentially centuries if cared for. It can be read over and over, without the use of any power whatsoever (unless you insist on reading in bed with a head lamp or whatever).

So we do what we can to limit this.

• In the UK we print our books on woodfree* paper.
• We supply trade orders overseas by printing as close to the end point of delivery as possible.
• We order our office stationery (and catering equipment for events) from suppliers who only use recycled/ biodegradable materials. and we reuse ‘single use’ where it is hygenic to do so, until they fall apart – roughly 6 useages.
• We offset carbon on our deliveries from suppliers.
• Our electricity is 100% from renewables, and we have solar panels on the roof, which  in summer cover 100% of our office needs. We’ve had batteries installed this year which we hope will help cover the winter office needs too.
• We use recycled/biodegradable packaging for orders from our website and recycle packaging that comes in to us (we’ve never yet bought any bubble wrap – it comes from elsewhere), so you might find your delivery wrapped in something eccentric like present wrappings from christmas, or off-cuts of cloth.
• For events, where practicable (sometimes it really isn’t), we travel with all our gear by public transport. Amazing what a wheelie suitcase can carry!

We know it’s not enough, but it’s a start.