Publishers Green Network relaunches with WWF

The Publishers Green Network (PGN) has relaunched today (26th May) with a special keynote to be delivered by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The voluntary group, now co-supported by the Publishers Association and Book Industry Communication (BIC), was founded in May 2007 by a group of publishers who wanted to share good environmental practice across UK publishing houses by meeting a few times a year. 

Its aims are to help those in the book industry increase sustainability and reduce their overall environmental impact. The PGN looks at the complete process and supply chain for physical and e-books by providing a networking and information sharing forum to share ideas.

David Nussbaum, c.e.o. of WWF UK, will deliver the keynote at an event tonight (26th May) hosted by Pearson in London on recent developments in the international and national sphere. He will set a framework for the global climate agenda, current priorities for WWF and focus on what this might mean for the publishing industry. He will also look at the need for partnerships with environmental charities.

PGN chairman, Ashley Lodge, a senior publisher at Pearson, said: "I am really delighted to be relaunching our group with David Nussbaum, the c.e.o. of WWF UK. I passionately believe the PGN's information sharing forum has an important role to play in ensuring that the publishing industry continues to minimise its environmental impacts."

PA chief executive, Stephen Lotinga, who will be in conversation with Nussbaumat at the relaunch, added: “We are delighted to be relaunching this important network. The publishing industry is committed to conducting its business in an environmentally sustainable way and supported moves for printed materials to be brought into the EU Timber Regulation.The relaunch of the PGN is further evidence of this commitment and will enable issues to be considered from a more strategic perspective.” 

Data from the latest Publishers Association Statistics Yearbook shows that total paper output by publishers has increased 15% in five years, from 258,641 tonnes in 2011 to 303,363 tonnes in 2015.