Environment & Sustainability

Profile Books was founded in 1996, with the goal of finding and championing books that open up space for readers to think differently. When Profile started there were three people, now there are sixty-five. Our publishing aims have not changed – to create books that surprise, delight and endure – but the world in which we operate has. We are working hard to measure, manage and reduce our environmental impact, and are ultimately aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and as such are signatories to Publishing Declares, an industry-wide commitment to reaching that target.

Climate impact

Making and distributing our books are by far the biggest contributing factors to our emissions, and we are therefore constantly looking for ways to improve our environmental practice in these areas.

We consider the carbon footprint and fibre sources when deciding which papers we print on.
Our major UK print partners use energy from 100% renewable sources.
We have substantially reduced the number of titles we produce in the Far East and, where possible, look to print books in the UK and Europe – as close as possible to their final destination.
We measure our carbon footprint (including our scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions) on an annual basis to continually assess our impact, and we use this data to inform decisions that will reduce our emissions in any way possible.

Forest impact

All our books are printed on FSC-certified paper.

Environmental impact of printing

Our suppliers are vetted for best environmental – and ethical – practices and are asked to supply documentation to that effect – FSC certificates, ISO 14001 certification and current carbon intensity figures.

Reducing resource use and waste

We operate Auto Stock Replenishment (ASR) and Print on Demand (POD) programmes to reduce overstocks and backlist waste.
We are constantly assessing finishes on backlist titles and, where we can, are removing laminations, foils and embossing.
Our publicity team aim to reduce the number of physical proofs sent to reviewers and bloggers in favour of PDFs or eBooks available on services such as NetGalley.
Our marketing team commit to using recyclable and biodegradable materials wherever possible and have a list of recommended suppliers for this purpose. The team will only print promotional materials when we know exact quantities needed, in order to reduce surplus.
We are investigating local printing for Frankfurt Book Fair using biodegradable materials.
Our stand for London Book Fair is printed locally and elements are reused each year. We are investigating more eco-friendly materials for LBF 2024 onwards.

Reducing our office impact

We have also taken significant steps in our office to reduce our environmental impact.

All our office paper is FSC-certified.
Since 2012 our post room has used 100% recyclable packaging and, where possible, packaging is reused
We are a zero waste to landfill office.
80% of the waste from our office was re-used or recycled in 2021. This rose to 84% in 2022. We have a target of 85-88% for 2023 and commit to publishing our results in May of each year.
All the products used by our custodial team are eco-friendly and made of plant-based, biodegradable ingredients.
We run a cycle to work scheme and a significant percentage of staff cycle to work at least twice a week.
We use pushbikes as a first-choice option for London couriers and electric-vehicles for larger packages or longer journeys.
Where possible staff use existing public transport for journeys within London. Where public transportation is not feasible, cab journeys are made with electric vehicles.
Where international travel is necessary, we aim to use trains wherever possible, as opposed to air travel.

Our influence

A final, key part of our environmental impact is in our publishing itself. We publish some of the world’s great thinkers and writers in all areas. Here is a selection of our titles that engage with various aspects of environmentalism: