What is the Carbon Calculator?
As part of a suite of tools designed to support publishers in taking action on Publishing Declares, we have commissioned RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) and software specialists Solstice to design the first and only carbon calculator that is bespoke to the UK book and journal publishing industry.
The tool will allow members to monitor their carbon outputs across various aspects of their business, including different sites and departments. It will monitor for Green House Gas emissions made by the company itself, emissions it produces indirectly, and emissions up and down its value chain.
Members will be able to use the Carbon Calculator to review how they are performing from a sustainability perspective. Over time, with further data, publishers will be able to be benchmarked against each other, as well as the industry as a whole. This will highlight areas for improvement and help the industry tackle collective issues in sustainability.
Members of the Publishers Association will have free access to the tool at sustainability-publishers.org.uk and can be accessed by emailing sustainability@publishers.org.uk for login credentials.
Materials Index
The Materials Matrix stands alongside the Carbon Calculator and allows members to see the most common materials used in the publishing supply chain and sustainable alternatives for print. Each material is assessed according to a set of key environmental indicators, including GHG emissions, energy efficiency and recyclability.
The Materials Matrix assesses materials (paper and board; cloth; plastics; metals; CDs), packaging (board wrapping; void fill) and production (printing process; inks; binding glues; finishes). Both tools together allow publishers and those in design and production to understand the sustainability implications of different processes and materials, enable them to make informed decisions, and choose more sustainable options.