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Environmental Initiatives
Here at Multi-Media Publications
Inc., we care about the ecological impact of our business activities.
Our staff are continually investigating new ways in which we can
help the environment. Some of our current initiatives are
described below.
PrintingPrinting books uses paper -
lots of paper. We are working hard to minimize the paper we
need and are using papers with recycled content to save our
forests. In addition, shipping books from the printer to our
warehouse locations and distributors creates tons of greenhouse gasses.
To deal with all of this, we have undertaken the following
initiatives:
- We use modern inventory management algorithms
to forecast book inventory needs and then calculate our press run sizes
to minimize the number of potentially unsold books that get destroyed
at the end of a book's life.
- Our books are printed in several
locations to try and produce the books as close to our distributors and
warehouses as we can. Books are printed in Toronto, Canada to
server our main warehouse, two locations in the USA (one North and one
South), and one location in England to service the UK and Europe.
- Books covers include 20% post-consumer recycled paper.
- Book
interiors use just under 20% recycled paper, but we are investigating
options with a higher recycled content. In addition, we have been
able to use vegetable-based inks on some of our print runs.
TransportationShipping has the second largest
environmental impact of our business processes. We are undertaking the
following initiative to reduce this impact:
- With warehouse
locations located in Canada, the UK, and two locations in the USA, we
can ship our orders from the nearest facility, cutting down on
greenhouse gas emissions from delivery trucks.
- We have switched
to 100% recycled, paper fibre-filled padded shipping envelopes or 100%
recycled cardboard boxes for individual book orders. This cuts back
dramatically on the plastic bubble-lined envelopes we relied on
exclusively in the past. (For shipping audio CDs, we still rely on the
bubble envelopes for now, but are investigating other options.)
- For larger orders, all of our shipping boxes are reused shipping cartons made from recycled fibres.
- The company car shared by management staff has been changed to a Saturn Aura Hybrid.
Office and Administration- Our
editorial, design, and layout work is done electronically and our staff
are instructed to minimize the amount of printing of manuscripts and
drafts.
- When we do have to print documents, our
office printers are stocked with recycled paper that has 30%
post-consumer recycled content.
- Our laser toner and inkjet cartridges are refilled to reduce plastic waste.
- Communications between staff are conducted via email to reduce printed memos.
- Office waste is segregated into recyclable (blue box) and non-recyclable waste.
ePublishing Multi-Media
Publications Inc. is a founding member of the ePublisher Movement.
We've been publishing electronic books and documents,
downloadable audiobooks, and electronic learning modules since 1988.
As a pioneer in this field, we've worked hard to advance
standards and adoption of digital products. We continue to
promote these publishing options, releasing all of our new titles in
both print and multiple electronic formats. eBooks have a
dramatically lower environmental impact, with no printing or shipping
required.
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