As a publisher of books on science and the environment, Harvard University Press (HUP) is especially aware of the impact of publishing on the environment, particularly regarding the use of wood fiber as a source of book paper. In an effort to reduce our use of virgin fiber, we have joined over 100 other U.S. publishers in becoming a member of Green Press Initiative (GPI). GPI is a nonprofit organization working to help publishers and printers increase their use of recycled paper and decrease their use of fiber derived from endangered forests. By signing the GPI's Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper Use in 2004, HUP agreed to increase our use of recycled paper containing at least 30% post-consumer waste, from current levels to a 30% average overall by 2011.

Harvard University Press also teamed up with Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group and Amerikal Products Corporation, two of the printing industry’s most progressive and entrepreneurial companies, as part of a groundbreaking initiative creating a new sustainable process that will revolutionize how books are printed and manufactured. THINKTech™ is an innovative, eco-friendly process that prints books on a heat-set web press without any curing devices, ovens, or blowers, resulting in a dramatic reduction of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and the elimination of natural-gas-fed ovens required in traditional printing operations.

This commitment is part of a related effort at HUP to reduce the use of paper for memos, reports, and other in-house materials that can serve their purpose equally well in electronic form. HUP has made significant strides towards an all-electronic workflow for publishing books, the ultimate goal being to move from author files all the way to printer-ready files without a single paper proof.

Harvard University Press, in consideration of the mission set forth by the Harvard Green Campus Initiative to make Harvard University a living laboratory and learning organization for the pursuit of campus sustainability, is proud to be a part of this printing endeavor that will improve our productivity in today’s economy, while reducing both our costs and carbon footprint. In the end, we cannot publish without paper, but we can make do with far less, which will help protect the environment, as well as make us a more efficient and better publisher.