Launching Penguin’s updated Sustainability Policy

This Earth Day, we're launching an updated Sustainability Policy, setting out ambitious goals and new ways of working across all departments and our global value chain.

As the biggest publisher in the UK, the most important role we can play in combating the climate emergency is through our books. We have a proud history of publishing change-making books in this space over decades, from visionary thinkers like Naomi Klein and Tim Flannery, to books which help readers make practical changes in everyday life.

Alongside this we also need to do everything we can to reduce the environmental impact of our own operations. We are now climate neutral in our direct operations, with a commitment to being climate neutral across our global value chain by 2030.

We are committed to ensuring that our paper and other core materials are ethically and sustainably sourced. 100% of the paper we use to make our books is Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified – the hallmark of excellence in sustainable paper sourcing. 

The policy builds on ongoing work by Penguin Random House UK to improve its sustainable practices, with recent highlights including:

Reaching climate neutrality in direct operations in 2021
Setting up a dedicated environmental publishing imprint with Sir David Attenborough, Witness Books
Reaching goal to source 100% of paper from FSC® certified sources in 2020
Established a robust supplier management and sustainable sourcing policy in 2020
Reduced direct carbon emissions by 65% since 2018, including switching to 100% renewable energy at all offices and warehouse sites
Single use plastic within our distribution operation has nearly halved since 2017

Illustration: Mike Ellis for Penguin