What made you want to work in publishing?

I’m not a publisher by trade, I’m an environmental scientist. About 20 years ago the UK government was funding projects to work out the environmental impact of different sectors and the publishing sector was one of them. I was contracted to look at the publishing industry- we had to quantify all of the resources used and all of the waste produced. This was done in partnership with the PPA and I’ve been working with the PPA and its members ever since!

What do you think has driven publishers to become more invested in sustainability recently?

There are several factors that are driving publishers to really think about sustainability solutions. One is a realisation that we’re very close to a number of tipping points in terms of sustainability, and if they as businesses don’t act then who is going to act? Alongside that there is pressure from their readers, customers, and employees. Some people I’ve worked with have said they want to attract the best and brightest talent and that talent is asking about sustainability. There is also a degree of regulatory pressure, but I guess that isn’t so strong with publishers versus other industries. Also of course investors – they’re looking for sustainable investments.

It’s taken a while to get people to start to take action but now industries including the publishing sector are trying to make up for lost time and are taking it very seriously and wanting to find the right way forward.

What inspired you to come up with the carbon calculator? Can you explain how it works?

Publishers realised that what you can’t measure you can’t manage, so they wanted a way of understanding what the footprint of certain titles was. It was about trying to provide insight into what drives the carbon footprint of magazine publishing. And then to target actions to reduce that footprint.

We’ve tried to make it as intuitive for publishers as possible. Questions such as what type of paper you use, what are the dimensions of the magazine, what distribution channels does it go down etc. We try to make it speak publishers’ language as much as possible, making it a publishers' tool rather than a carbon footprint expert’s tool.

What does the word sustainability mean to you?

I think when we talk about sustainability there is a temptation to exclusively think about carbon footprint, but sustainability is a lot more than this. There are a lot of environmental and social challenges in the world from soil degradation to overfishing to modern slavery. It’s a broad term that’s all encompassing that can be hard to get your head around. It’s good we can package that up in smaller bitesize chunks like doing something about our carbon footprint first and foremost because that’s the most pressing challenge. There are other things like looking at single use plastic, sustainable forestry. Sustainability is made up of lots of environmental and social challenges and it’s really hard for a publisher to take on the entirety of sustainability in one go – you need to break it down into bitesize chunks.

It's important when we’re talking about sustainability to make sure it’s a genuine underlying principle of the business not just an afterthought or something we’re saying because we think the market wants it. It’s got to be something that drives the business and underlies the culture and philosophy of the business. And that might mean making something that businesses have to make sacrifices – it’s a short term pay for a long-term gain.

What is one thing publishers can do to lessen their carbon footprint?

For publishers that have printed products – and I know that isn’t all members of the PPA, the one thing they can do to reduce their carbon footprint is to reduce unsolds. That continued focus on minimising the unsolds can have a big effect on carbon impact. It’s about reducing material that doesn’t even end up being consumed.

Recent environmental reports have painted a rather bleak picture for our future, do you think there is time to make a difference?

Yes but time is running out. We need urgent action and that means investment. There is time but the solutions that are emerging, they need to be scaled up very quickly.

What is your ideal vision for a more sustainable world in 10 years time?

First and foremost, it would be a world where we don’t rely so heavily on fossil fuels for our power. Fossil fuels have to be phased out and rapidly. Alongside that, a change in thinking. There have been a number of economic studies that show the pursuit of economic growth is unsustainable. So we need a different way of measuring success, not just for individuals but for businesses as well. Growth for growths sake isn’t sustainable. A different economic model is needed, one that promotes quality rather than quantity.

And of course, it’s not sustainable that we have such vast quality of life differences in the world. We need to be able to give people in the developing world the same chances we had, and the same opportunities for living a rich and fulfilled life.

What’s on your radar?

Cop26 and what comes out of that is going to be quite critical.

For some of my other project work and through RISE (Research Institute of Sweden), I get exposed to emerging technologies that could play a part in a more sustainable future. I like to keep an eye on those technologies and see what’s coming, and where we can revolutionise supply chains, and industries to offer more sustainable futures.

If you would like to join the PPA's Sustainability Action Group (SAG) please get in touch with our Public Affairs Intern, Sebastian Cutthill at sebastian.cutthill@ppa.co.uk or Michael Sturges at michael.sturges@ri.se