ALMA BOOKS’ SUSTAINABILITY POLICY

At Alma we take our responsibility towards the environment very seriously. You can find more information on our sustainability practices and policies below.

STOCK MOVEMENT

One of the hidden environmental problems connected to trade is moving stock around. Of course, this also applies to printing, which is the reason why every Alma book is printed in the UK, keeping our carbon footprint to a minimum.

PAPER

The paper used to print our books is sourced exclusively from FSC-certified suppliers.

PACKAGING

Another serious environmental problem is packaging. In 2018, we revised our postage and packaging policies, and replaced the standard Jiffy bags we used to send out books with cardboard “book wraps”, produced using materials from sustainable sources, entirely biodegradable and recyclable.

STOCK MANAGEMENT

In traditional publishing, books are printed in huge volumes. This has the benefit of bringing down unit costs, but if – as can sometimes happen – books don’t sell out, they are then destroyed (“pulped”). While pulping does allow the wasted books to be recycled, the energy and carbon involved in doing so is not negligible.

Alma has adapted its printing strategy to fit each project, minimizing the need for pulping – in fact, we’ve honed our stock management so much that the last three years have been completely waste free.