Jude Gates appointed chair of Publishers Association’s Sustainability Taskforce
Jude Gates, Operations Director at Faber has been appointed as the new chair of the Publishers Association’s Sustainability Taskforce. Jude takes over from Siena Parker, former Social Impact Director at Penguin Random House, and succeeds Helen Griggs, Global Director Environment, Procurement & Supply at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Jude Gates said:
“The dedicated and thoughtful collaboration of the Publishers Association and the Sustainability Taskforce has provided both useful resources and priceless support. For many publishers sustainability is now an integral part of the decision-making process and I am delighted to be working with the Publishers Association and the excellent and engaged members on such vital and overarching work towards the next steps.”
Alice Wood, the Publishers Association’s Sustainability Manager, commented:
“I am thrilled that Jude Gates is our new Chair of the Sustainability Taskforce, following a very successful four years chaired by Helen and a valuable six months chaired by Siena Parker. Jude’s extensive knowledge of the publishing industry and the environmental sustainability challenges it faces will be highly valuable to our engaged and hard-working Taskforce. I am very much looking forward to working with, and learning from, Jude.”
The Sustainability Taskforce was established in 2020. Its first industry initiative was launching the climate action pledge, Publishing Declares. This now has nearly 200 signatories across the UK book and journal industry.
Following the Publishing Declares pledge, the Publishers Association then launched a suite of bespoke tools designed to support publishers in assessing their processes and operations, and making sustainable decisions. These are the Carbon Calculator, which allows publishers to calculate and monitor their carbon emissions across various aspects of their business, and the Materials Matrix which assesses commonly used materials according to a set of key environmental indicators, including greenhouse emissions, energy efficiency and recyclability. Together these tools empower publishers to make informed choices on the environmental sustainability of different materials and processes.
Following a survey of Publishing Declares signatories about their priorities and business activities, the Publishers Association hosted a panel at London Book Fair earlier this year entitled ‘Publishing Declares: 3 Years On, Where is the Industry Now?’ The panel discussed approaches to empowering staff with useful knowledge; the challenges of using more sustainable options for some raw materials; the importance of industry collaboration and learning from one another; environmental data challenges; and the welcome increasing prioritisation of environmental sustainability within the books and journals industry. The strategic focus of the Taskforce this year is to empower signatories to work towards their climate action goals through training.