Business and Biodiversity Initiative

oekom verlag is the leading publisher for sustainability topics in German-speaking countries. Its eight journals, its rapidly growing booklist, its numerous brochures as well as its online media bring together more than 2500 authors, cooperation partners and promotors of all groups of society. With its unique network and its professional team the publisher concentrates specialist know-how and potential in order to realize sustainable initiatives and ideas.

According to its principle ‘From Knowledge to Action’, oekom has made it its business to lead by example with its own management practice. Its main focus lies hereby on the protection of biodiversity, supporting sustainable forest management and climate protection. As a leading innovator among publishing houses oekom assures an ecological production of all its publications. The member of the ‘Biodiversity in Good Company’ Initiative audits and optimizes its environmental protection activities concerning the aspect of biodiversity conservation according to the Leadership Declaration. oekom’s Sustainability Representative working side by side with the business management is responsible for safeguarding sustainability and is in control of the impact the business’ activities have on biodiversity.

The company regards its role in the dissemination of information as part of its sustainable management.  Thus, the publisher has initiated a project in order to search for environmentally sound solutions for the production and distribution of publications and to make the findings accessible to the whole publishing sector. Its focus lies hereby on the production of paper and the print processes, to find answers to the following questions: How is it possible to reduce the demand for paper? Is there any ecological alternative to paper made of virgin fibre? What are reliable lables for sustainable forest management and paper supply? Which ecological criteria should be considered for the print processes? Within the publishing branch oekom helps to set universal business standards in preserving the environment. The initiative „ Sustainable/Green Publishing – New enviromental standards fort he publishing branch“ („Nachhaltig Publizieren – Neue Umweltstandards für die Verlagsbranche“) is advocated by the Federal Environment Ministry. Cooperation partners are the ifeu – Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Heidelberg, and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) as well as the Frankfurt Book Fair.

As a company which relies on wood, oekom is aware of the fact that the depletion of tropical forests and climate change will destroy irretrievably the habitat of many animal and plant species. Therefore, the publishing house’s highest priority is purchasing recycled paper (as far as possible Blue Angel eco-labelled) and FSC-certified paper. Its publications are all printed by an FSC-and ISO-certified printing press in the region. Being Germany’s first climate neutral publishing house oekom contributes actively to climate protection and therefore to the conservation of biological diversity by avoiding, reducing and compensating for harmful emissions.

Thus, oekom has positioned itself in a pioneering role stressing its concern of protecting biodiversity not only within its own business but also by enhancing „Green Publishing“ within the whole media industry.

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