Sustainability

Our approach to sustainability

As a family-owned company with a 200-year legacy, we think in generations rather than quarters. We are dedicated to operating a sustainable business that will continue to pioneer publishing for years to come.

While our legacy and size provide us with a strong foundation, our decentralised governance model allows us and our businesses to remain agile and challenge the status quo in the book industry. Just like our publishing, our sustainability agenda is bold and innovative.

The CEO of each business is responsible for driving change in relevant sustainability areas and ensuring adherence to group policies and applicable legislation. Business-specific sustainability initiatives are also managed locally. Over the last couple of years, we have strengthened our sustainable production processes through increased coordination and a more holistic and strategic approach, exemplified by the updated Production Policy and the EVA supplier assessment tool. Our purchases are made from a dozen strategic partners, but in total, we engage with around 100 printing suppliers. Most of our suppliers are in Europe, but we also engage with many suppliers in Asia.

The Open Book

To address our sustainability impact throughout the value chain, we launched the company-wide platform The Open Book in spring 2021. It serves as a framework to boost our sustainability efforts across our businesses and addresses pressing issues in our industry such as freedom of speech, materials sourcing, supplier assessments and diversity. Group-wide issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable production practices are predominantly addressed jointly, while the businesses are encouraged to undertake business-specific initiatives relevant to their business and impact.