Environmental Record

Raincoast Books Is Committed to a Sustainable Future

Raincoast Books is continually exploring innovative ways to reduce the environmental impact of book publishing and distribution in Canada.

Our 2008 and 2009 ‘Buy a Book, Plant a Tree’ campaigns with Eco-Libris have helped plant over 4,500 trees.

The Raincoast publishing program, which ceased to publish new books in January 2008, worked closely with Canopy (formerly Markets Initiative) in Canada and Green Press Initiative in the United States to reduce the environmental impact of our books. Over 95% of Raincoast’s text-based books were printed on ancient forest friendly paper.

In June 2003, Raincoast printed the Canadian edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on 100% ancient forest friendly, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

We were awarded the 2003 Ethics in Action Award for our commitment to lessening our impact on the world’s forest and global ecosystems, and to date we have saved over 75,185 old-growth trees.

What Is Ancient Forest Friendly?

Ancient forest friendly paper does not contain any materials from trees of ancient or old growth forests.

Ancient forests refer to forest areas that are relatively undisturbed by human industrial activity. Ancient forests provide crucial ecological functions. They help stabilize the earth’s climate and mitigate the effects of global warming. They protect watersheds and maintain soil productivity. They provide habitat for thousands of plants, animals and microorganisms.

Ancient forests generally have a multi-layered canopy with many openings and a patchy understorey, natural regeneration of trees, varying tree size, age and spacing, and are dominated by indigenous tree species.

Find out more about being Ancient Forest Friendly.