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Sunday, 5 February 2006 | Levent OZLER
Ecotone First Publisher in US to Go Carbon Neutral
American Green Building Publisher Determined to have a Positive Impact on the World with Green Books and Business
Ecotone Publishing LLC, the first exclusive green architecture and design book publisher in North America, today it announced that they will be offsetting all carbon dioxide emissions related to its business operations. An industry leader, Ecotone is the first American publishing house to fully adopt carbon neutrality to its triple bottom line, in order to offset its own contributions to global warming.
"Every company can make a difference by combating climate change - our green building books are dedicated to providing environmentally responsible solutions. Having already taken many of the requisite steps in greening our business it was time to formalize our commitment by going carbon neutral"
said Jason F. McLennan, founder and president of Ecotone.
Ecotone is proud to have purchased 40 tons of carbon offsets from The Climate Trust and an additional 10 tons from the Solar Electric Light Fund to counterbalance carbon dioxide emissions produced in 2005 through the publisher's use of paper, travel, fossil fuels, electricity and production of waste. Ecotone plans to continue its carbon neutral program from 2005 forward, investing in carbon credit and allowance projects that have the highest environmental credibility and value.
"Ecotone endeavors to provide inspiration to the building industry through our green building publications. Deeply embedding the environmental principles touted in our books into our business practices was an obvious next step for us - in effect practicing what we promote" said Bob Berkebile, a founding principal of BNIM Architects and the senior advisor for Ecotone Publishing.
The operations of Ecotone Publishing released a total of 41.06 tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The majority of those emissions came from the use of paper (33.26 tons of CO2), with flights & couriers (5.15 tons of CO2), trucking & vehicle travel (1.79 tons of CO2), fuel for heat & power (0.81 tons of CO2), and waste (0.05 tons of CO2) making up the remainder.
While Ecotone has taken a leadership role in the American publishing industry with a carbon neutral philosophy, Ecotone gives much of the credit to sustainability consultant, Guy Dauncey of Victoria, Canada. "It is wonderful that Ecotone has become the second publisher in all of North America and the first American publishing house to become carbon neutral.
The world really needs leadership of this kind" said Dauncey. His carbon neutral template GOING CARBON NEUTRAL - A Guide for Publishers was implemented in 2005 by New Society Publishing of Gabriola Island, Canada, establishing the Canadian company as the first publisher in North America to go Carbon Neutral.
By formally committing to carbon dioxide offsetting, Ecotone Publishing joins an exceptional group of organizations involved in the green building movement that have implemented similar climate mitigation strategies.
Notable green building industry leaders that are actively participating in rigorous emission offset and sequestering programs include Rumsey Engineers, Interface Inc, and the Rocky Mountain Institute.
McLennan adds, "The trend toward the inclusion of environmental accounting into the business models of a growing number of companies is very encouraging. Our company-wide commitment to offset CO2 emissions is an essential step in demonstrating leadership and becoming the holistic company we are striving to be. We challenge all companies to join us in this critical effort."
About Ecotone
Founded and operated by green building experts, Ecotone Publishing, LLC is the first book publisher to focus solely on green architecture and design.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., the company is dedicated to meeting the growing demand for authoritative and accessible books on sustainable design, materials selection and building techniques.
Ecotone institutes a variety of green strategies including the printing all of its books on recycled content paper, the use of recyclable packaging and supporting employees telecommuting from home offices. Ecotone Publishing LLC proudly donates a minimum of 10 percent of its profits to environmental and social organizations.
Ecotone: http://www.dexigner.com/directory/detail/7171/
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