Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The green agenda of the Green Books Campaign's publishers - part 4: McArthur and Co.

One week to the Green Books Campaign and we continue to present some of the publishers that participate in the campaign and their thoughts on why it's important that books will be printed in an eco-friendly manner.

Our guest today is McArthur & Co..

McArthur & Company is a Canadian-owned and operated publisher and distributor of quality Canadian and international fiction and non-fiction for adults and children, based in Toronto. Founded in 1998, the company has had 70 bestsellers, 25 of them #1 bestsellers. Our authors have been shortlisted for 21 Canadian awards and have won 7 of them, including the Governor General's Award for Fiction in 2009 for Kate Pullinger's The Mistress of Nothing.

McArthur and Co. is participating in the campaign with the following books (all printed on FSC-certified paper):

1. The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger will be reviewed on Elizabeth Baines

2. Sounding Line by Anne DeGrace will be reviewed at CHOCOLATE REALITY

3. The Find by Kathy Page will be reviewed on she reads and reads

4. Beauty: Pure + Simple by Kristen Ma will be reviewed on Aisle B

5. Worldshift 2012: Making Green Business, New Politics, and Higher Consciousness Work Together by Dr. Ervin Laszlo will be reviewed on The Ontario Ecotourism Society.

And now to the questionnaire (all publishers were asked to reply the same four questions):

Why do you believe books should be printed on eco-friendly paper?
As a Canadian publisher, it's very important for us to protect Canada's forest resources. By selecting paper that's been certified by FSC, we are reducing the negative effect our industry has on ancient forests, and ensuring that our paper comes from responsibly managed forests and recycled sources.

What is your policy on using eco-friendly paper?
McArthur & Company strives to print as many of our books as possible on eco-friendly paper. We always consider eco-friendly paper for any book we print.

Are there other ways you're going green?
We try to reduce the amount of paper we print in our office, whether it's emails or manuscripts. Many of us have ereaders that allow us to read manuscripts. Our editorial team is moving toward more on-screen editing and proofreading. This significantly reduces the number of times a book is printed throughout the production process.

What's your advice to readers that would like to make their book purchasing more sustainable?
In-store, look for an FSC logo on the book or for a statement about the publishers' paper policy, usually found on the back cover of a book or on the copyright page. Online, chapters.indigo.ca displays an FSC logo for books that have been certified.

Thank you McArthur & Co. for your work and your participation in the Green Books Campaign!

The Campaign's page is http://www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp .You can also follow the campaign on Facebook and twitter.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!