Publishers Association launches ‘Carbon Calculator’ to help industry tackle climate change

The Publishers Association has today announced the launch of its bespoke Carbon Calculator. This is part of a suite of tools designed to support its members in acting on the Publishing Declares pledge. The Carbon Calculator is the first and only bespoke tool of its kind available to the UK book and journal publishing industry.

Designed by sustainability experts RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) and software company Solstice, 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.

A Materials Matrix will be added alongside the Carbon Calculator over the coming weeks and will allow members to see the most used materials in the publishing supply chain and sustainable alternatives.