IPG’s new sustainability project hones in on localised printing

The Independent Publishers Guild and printing company HP are partnering on a new cross-industry initiative to help publishers reduce the environmental impacts of printing.

The Localising Printing Project will see leading independent children’s and illustrated publishers analyse how printing that is currently done in Asia can be swapped for the UK or Europe, to cut the greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain. 

Publishers joining the IPG’s working group include Nosy Crow, Hardie Grant and David Fickling Books. Printers Clays and CPI will also be involved, with support from HP and an independent consultant in production and sustainability.

The results of the research are expected to give publishers a clearer picture of the benefits and costs of localising printing and their options for achieving it. The working group will explore the potential for replicating Asia-based technology and labour for producing books, especially full-colour and novelty titles, in the UK.

The plan is a follow-up to the Book Journeys Project, the award-winning initiative from the IPG’s Sustainability Action Group that identified printing and transport as key environmental impacts. Goals set by the first phase of the Book Journeys Project include an end to air freight or compensation via credible offsets by 2030. Its’ ultimate ambition is to halve all emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero status by 2050 at the latest.

Amanda Ridout, founder and c.e.o. of Boldwood Books and chair of the IPG’s Sustainability Action Group, said: “Independent publishers are determined to reduce the environmental footprint of printing books, and this cross-industry collaboration is a vital first step. The research findings will help us set meaningful targets for improvement, and we are grateful to the children’s and illustrated publishers who are demonstrating their commitment to improving sustainability by steering this work.”

Ashley Gordon, publishing market development manager at HP, added: “We are pleased and proud to support the IPG’s hard work on urgent environmental issues. Printers share publishers’ concerns about sustainability and want to help bring down emissions at the production and transport stages. Printing in a more environmentally friendly way is not only the right thing to do, it has commercial benefits as well. This work encourages us all to adopt more sustainable ways of working.”