Can you quench your thirst for books without taking too much from the well?
Publishing has not historically been the friendliest industry to the planet. Even now, there’s unfortunately a lot of waste that often goes on behind the scenes due to what happens to unsold books, inefficient business processes and what feels like a general ‘not-a-priority’ stance on planet-friendly publishing.
As an independent publisher, Inspired Quill seeks to make its books as eco-sustainable as possible.
You can join us to help make that difference.
In this article we’ll break down what sustainable publishing means to us, what an even better process can look like, and how your reading footprint could be greener.
Sustainable Publishing
The process of publishing books is (perhaps surprisingly) unique to each publisher. At every step we can consider how to reduce the environmental impact. Here are some examples that match the Inspired Quill process, but might not be relevant for other presses (and there are likely some that other presses deal with that we don’t need to).
Our Sustainability Process
At Inspired Quill, the following 6 practices help make our process more sustainable:
- Print On Demand: We print books based on the orders, so there’s no leftover stock going to waste.
- Reduce Printing: Our contracts are digitally signed and printing is kept to a minimum. Gone are the days where a 250+ page manuscript is proofed multiple times in hardcopy before it goes to the formatter!
- Batch Delivery: We reduce emissions by bundling book deliveries where possible.
- Against Generative AI: Our Stance on Generative AI in publishing is clear: we don’t use it.
- Eco-Friendly Materials:
- Tote Bags: We use recycled materials and green inks in our tote bags.
- Book Envelopes: The envelopes used for sending books directly are made from recycled cardboard (or sometimes re-used packaging).
- Creme Paper: Our book paper requires less bleaching compared to white paper in the printing process.
- Manage Waste Responsibly: Electrical Waste is recycled properly and books with printing errors that are still legible are used for giveaways or donation prizes rather than pulped.
- Work From Home: None of the Inspired Quill authors or volunteers are obliged to commute to an office at any point. This significantly cuts emission costs and means that electricity is only used when required.
Inspired Quill Eco Goals
The next step for us is to become Carbon Neutral (at minimum) by 2027.
How? Carbon offsetting.
Carbon Offsetting is the process of reducing an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide to the amount produced. For example, in the future Inspired Quill could plant trees through a company like Ecologi to account for the amount of carbon produced by deliveries.
Unfortunately, Carbon Ofsetting doesn’t have the best reputation, since a lot of companies use it as a catch-all instead of doing the hard work of reducing their emissions in the first place. Our challenge will be to figure out our initial C02 number, and continue to take steps to reduce our footprint as much as we can before we offset anything that’s impossible to reduce further.
Our Advice To Other Publishers
Do what you can, with what you’ve got
Start from where you are and make small changes. Don’t let the idea of perfection, or huge changes beyond your scope, hold you back from doing anything differently.
Evaluate your current process
Look at what you’re doing already, day to day. Can you reduce the amount of printing? Do you turn off your computer when you’re not using it? Is all of your waste properly recycled?
Then move onto the business itself: Do you use eco-friendly packaging for your books? Do your printers follow FSC guidelines? Can you swap the type of paper you use for your books without lowering the quality?
Find those small areas to change, one at a time.
Mini Case Study: Renard Press
Renard Press is an excellent example of sustainability in publishing. Will Dady launched the independent publisher in June 2020 and has made incredible progress to become climate positive.
Advice from Renard Press
Will Dady was kind enough to offer his advice, which we’ve paraphrased below:
- Small Collective Action: Will spoke about building small incremental changes, he emphasised that as a community our changes add up to make a difference on a larger scale.
- Account For Margin of Error: Sometimes we don’t have all the information about emissions, especially when it comes to digital operations and scope 3 emissions (from suppliers or customers – those which we don’t have control over). Renard Press found their ‘best guess’ for this unknown and then doubly offsets the emissions.
- Aim High: Set a marker, but aim to out perform it. Indie Publishing can be a force for good when we take the opportunity to give back.
- Revise, Revise, Revise: No part of sustainability work is a checklist. Instead, it requires revision and reflection. For example, Renard Press tried one carbon neutral website host server in Amsterdam that slowed down their website before switching to B Corp Krystal in East London.
- Tell Readers: Don’t be afraid to tell readers what good you’re doing, as mistakes and revision are part of the process. It sounds simple but readers won’t know about the sustainable actions you’re taking unless you tell them. Have the confidence to show your efforts.
Sustainable Reading
Readers also have a lot of power when it comes to creating a greener publishing industry.
Buy From Green Sources
If you’re looking for a new, fresh book, why not support an Independent Publisher with an eco-friendly process? Put your money behind people that refill to the well when they take from it.
- Choose wisely: Avoid companies that are greenwashing and trying to appear sustainable with hollow claims to boost their reputation. Look for concrete evidence of their process for example, Renard Press shows you their carbon offsetting progress via their Ecologi page.
- eBooks: While scope 3 emissions are difficult to track for a reader’s electricity supply, you avoid shipping and printing with eBooks. Here at Inspired Quill, eBooks bought directly from our website are even cheaper than from other retailers! Win-win-win!
Borrow Books
If you’re not worried about the condition, buy or read secondhand books. Save some money and extend the use of a book that otherwise would be gathering dust.
- Ask a friend, family, a colleague: Do you know what your community is reading? Try swapping books, maybe you’ll discover a new favourite you never would’ve picked up before.
- Libraries: Show your local library some love, see how many you borrow!
- If you have a library card but can’t make it to the library regularly, try Libby. It’s an app that gives you access to your library’s books digitally by using your library card.
- Little Libraries: These wonderful spots are becoming increasingly popular. In the UK, they’re usually found inside old red telephone boxes which have been repurposed to allow for folks to leave old books and nab ones they’ve been looking to read!
Wrapping Up
You’ve made progress just by reading this far, so don’t be afraid to make your next step. Reduce your printing, borrow a book, support a sustainable publisher – the choice is yours. Step by step, keep going and you’ll make a difference. We’ll make a difference. You’re not alone, we’re a community.
This post was written by Grey Key, who at time of writing is a final-year Creative Writing student at Keele University and a web editor of the Keele Creative Writing website. They love to write both poetry and prose which can be found in the Things We Write anthology 2023-26.
