Our Commitment to the Environment

Andrews McMeel Publishing is committed to the responsible use of natural resources and is dedicated to understanding, measuring, and reducing the impact of our products on the natural world. We pledge to minimize waste, source paper responsibly, and give preference to vendors who share these values. Our goals will continue to evolve as we learn and cultivate our knowledge of what it means to be a more sustainable business.

Paper Procurement

We give preference to using paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), a global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide. FSC defines standards based on agreed principles for responsible forest stewardship that are supported by environmental, social, and economic stakeholders. To learn more, visit www.fsc.org

 When the appropriate certification standards are met, we label those products with the FSC logo so that consumers can know that the title they are purchasing is made from material from well-managed FSC-certified forests, recycled materials, and other controlled sources.

We started auditing our FSC usage in 2023, beginning with our calendar program. We are proud to report that 100% of our 2024 calendars are printed on FSC certified stocks. By the end of 2024, our goal is to measure and report on our FSC certification for the books we publish.

Soy Ink Usage

We also use soy ink, which has less of an environmental impact than petroleum-based inks, and contain far fewer volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”), a source of air pollution.

Plastic Elimination

We are in the process of eliminating plastic from our products. We have stopped using plastic in all of our day-to-day calendars, and all of our 2025 day-to-day calendars will be plastic free. Even though the plastic we use in our publishing are technically recyclable, we are in the process of transitioning the rest of our products away from plastic. We believe it is better to use little to no plastic because the truth of it is that very little plastic actually ever gets recycled.

Partnerships

Andrews McMeel is excited to expand our partnership with How2Recycle to include end of life recyclability guidance to our customers for more of our calendar products, including our wall calendars and day-to-day calendars. We plan to add more formats in the future as materials are evaluated and standardized labels are assigned.

For more information about How2Recycle, visit How2Recycle.