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.
“It is a great motivator for Random House to be recognized with this leadership award from SustainPrint.com. We are proud to be in the vanguard among eco-aware book publishers, and we will work very assiduously with our Random House Inc. colleagues, our suppliers and our industry to continue to be worthy of this honor of leadership,” said Andrew Van Der Laan, director of production planning for Random House.
Random House also was part of a panel discussion at the Book Business Conference and Expo, called “Going Green: Leading Publishers Tell You How It’s Done,” where Van Der Laan—the project manager responsible for implementing Random House’s environmental paper policy—shared insights into the implementation of the company’s new policy. Van Der Laan also accepted the award on behalf of his company at the reception.
Longtime Leader
Lantern Books received the book award as the industry’s “Longtime Leader.” Lantern was among the first book publishers to develop a meaningful environmentally friendly paper policy six years ago and since then has printed most of its books on 100-percent recycled paper. The company also has worked to support the development of new paper grades for the market and to engage printers in new stocking programs that have had benefits for other publishers. Lantern also helped craft the Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper Use and currently serves on the Treatise Leadership Council.
Lantern’s president and CEO, Gene Gollogly, accepted the award during the awards ceremony.
“Lantern Books was thrilled to receive SustainPrint.com’s first ever Longtime Leader award,” says Gollogly. “We at Lantern care deeply about recycling and responsible approaches to forestry, as well as lessening our environmental footprint in every aspect of the business. We are thrilled that so many other publishers and printers are beginning to show interest. Thank you, friends, for your acknowledgment of what we think is a critical effort.” BB
- Companies:
- Lantern Books
- Random House Inc.