News & Reviews

WORD: Harry Potter 7 said to be greenest book in publishing history
Edited Press Release

The Harry Potter series has galvanized the world’s book industry into going green, from spurring the development of 32 new ecological papers, six for Potter exclusively, to igniting a shift where 300 publishers have adopted environmental policies that are helping to protect Canada’s Boreal forest among others, Vancouver-based environmental group Markets Initiative announced.

The last book in the Potter series, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' and slated for release July 21, is considered within the industry to be the most environmentally friendly in publishing history with 16 countries printing the book on eco-friendly paper. That is up from one publisher in 2003, when Markets Initiative first worked with J.K. Rowling on starting the initiative that’s since spurred hundreds of publishers and paper mills since to turn other books green.

"When it comes to green, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is at the top of the book pile," said Nicole Rycroft, executive director of Markets Initiative in a press release. "We foresee other publishers and major paper consumers being inspired to take similar action to protect species and forests such as Canada’s Boreal."

The English-language editions of the latest book result in a savings of 197,685 trees (an area equivalent to 2.5 times the size of New York’s Central Park) and 7.9 million kilograms of greenhouse gases (equivalent to taking 1,577 cars off the road). The book uses the highest standard of eco-friendly paper for the majority of its print runs.

"The world of publishing may never see the likes of Harry Potter again, but that doesn’t discount its importance to readers, to booksellers and to the way publishing has melded its needs with that of the environment," said Sarah Nelson, Editor in Chief of Publisher's Weekly. "To think that Potter is the largest print run in history and may have actually helped the planet."

Starting with the first Harry Potter book published on Ancient Forest Friendly paper by one publisher -- Canada’s Raincoast Books in 2002 -- the Potter series has helped shift 300 publishers around the world to use green papers.

"Since ‘Order of the Phoenix’ in Canada, we have seen the spread of environmental values with other publishers and developed a number of ecological paper products to satisfy the growing demand within the industry," said Normand Lecours, VP of Sales and Marketing of Cascades Fine Papers Group in Montreal, one of the paper suppliers for the latest Harry Potter title.

Other recent book releases that used eco-friendly papers include Margaret Atwood’s ‘Blind Assassin’ and Rohinton Mistry’s ‘Family Matters.’

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