Random House and Lantern Books Honored as Environmental Leaders

Random House Inc. and Lantern Books were recognized for their achievements in environmental sustainability, taking home the first-ever SustainPrint.com Leadership Awards in book publishing. The awards were presented Mon., March 5, during a special reception at the Book Business Conference and Expo, held at the New York Marriott Marquis, Times Square.

The SustainPrint.com Leadership Awards recognize book and magazine publishing companies for their achievements in environmental sustainability. Fast Company magazine and the National Wildlife Federation were recognized as magazine publishing leaders. The awards are presented by SustainPrint.com—a Web site developed by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines to provide a central location for information and resources on environmental sustainability in printing and publishing.

“We believe that leaders in environmental sustainability efforts deserve recognition, and we are thrilled to be able to present the SustainPrint.com Leadership Awards to provide this recognition,” says Noelle Skodzinski, editor in chief of Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines, as well as SustainPrint.com. “The awards also will help share the stories of these publishers’ significant achievements so that other publishers can learn from their leadership and guidance. The winners of the first-annual SustainPrint.com Leadership Awards truly deserve this honor and are an inspiration to others in the industry.”

Newcomer of the Year
Random House Inc. received the “Newcomer of the Year” award in book publishing in recognition of the company’s significant paper-policy change announced in May 2006 that commits to a tenfold aggregate increase in recycled fiber tonnage within four years. This significant commitment guarantees that, over the course of the next four years, a minimum of 30 percent of the uncoated paper Random House uses to print the majority of its U.S. titles will be derived from recycled papers.

Random House’s policy marks the first significant paper policy with goals and benchmarks to be developed by a multinational company. When fully realized, it will represent annual savings of more than 550,000 trees—an amount that would fill 20 of New York City’s Central Parks.