Our employees across the territories are leading teams, such as the Sustainability Subcommittee in the United States and the Environment Team in Australia/New Zealand, to make grassroots efforts to combat climate change. In the United States, the Sustainability Subcommittee is an employee-led group of engaged colleagues who are dedicated to positively affecting the environment. In tandem with our corporate efforts, through awareness campaigns and events, the Subcommittee aims to have a positive impact in our communities and the environment where we work and live.

Penguin Random House views sustainability as a core responsibility aligned with our mission to create books for everyone. As a part of this responsibility, we are committed to ensuring our company’s compliance with the EUDR by December 30, 2025.

To support this effort, we are working closely with our suppliers to ensure full compliance across our supply chain and have partnered with osapiens to enhance and streamline our due diligence process. Understanding the importance of compliance for our clients and customers, we are updating our systems and processes to ensure our products meet the high environmental standards of the regulation, including full traceability of paper sources.

Sustainability is central to our values. Through responsible sourcing and transparency, Penguin Random House aims to contribute to a more sustainable and deforestation-free future for the publishing industry.

NEW YORK, NY (2024)

On Thursday, May 30, 20 NYC-based Penguin Random House employees volunteered with the Madison Square Park Conservancy.  Volunteers engaged in some light physical activity and got in the weeds—both literally and figuratively—to plant hundreds of blooming plants in the park for visitors to enjoy. To learn more about Madison Square Park Conservancy, click here.

MEXICO CITY (2024)

Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial employees and authors—alongside media personnel and influencers—volunteered with Reforestamos México in July to reforest 1.5 hectares of forest located approximately 150 kilometers outside of Mexico City. Together, 120 volunteers planted 1,200 trees, and members of the local community, with funds from Reforestamos México, supported our volunteers with a prepared meal.  

CANADA (2024)

Penguin Random House donated over 300,000 books as in-kind donations to charities and programs like First Book Canada, Book Clubs for Inmates, Save the Children, SickKids, and more in 2024. Most of these donations came from returns or overstock, contributing to our ongoing sustainability efforts by reducing waste and spreading the joy of reading by putting books in the hands of those in need. 

MEXICO (2024)

In a move to replace our current stock of wooden pallets, Penguin Random House has purchased 8,295 recycled plastic pallets for our Mexico distribution center since 2023. Wooden pallets have a lifespan of 3 months, which is almost considered single-use, and for every 10 wooden pallets made, one tree with a lifespan of 10-15 years is cut down. Our recycled plastic pallets, in contrast, have a lifespan of 8-10 years. 

NEW YORK, NY (2024)

Penguin Random House volunteers ran this year’s Botanical Book Bike at Madison Square Park, choosing a children’s book from the bike and reading every half hour from 12pm – 2pm. During non-storytime periods, volunteers helped the Botanical Book Bike Associate (a Madison Square Park Conservancy staff member) answer general questions about the books, lending/borrowing procedure, and other inquiries. For more information about the Botanical Book Bike, click here.

NEW YORK, NY (2023)

Corporate Services and the Sustainability Subcommittee have formed a Zero Waste Task Force to execute on a long-term Zero Waste initiative for the company’s New York City office, rethinking how we reduce, divert, and dispose of waste that ends up on-site. Achieving zero waste means conserving all resources with responsible production, consumption, and reuse of materials with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health. We have been tracking our waste diversion for 1745 Broadway on a monthly basis for over a year now to inform and quantify our waste diversion efforts. We diverted 167 tons of items from landfill primarily through recycling and donation programs in the first 12 months of tracking.

Since 2009, PRH has been a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership, an innovative collaboration between the EPA and the freight industry designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution.
When carrier capacity fluctuates, the Transportation Department focuses on securing the best resources to move our freight, including utilizing freight carriers who are considered best in class. Volume shifts and capacity constraints during 2021 (the latest EPA data set year) required working with a vast array of carriers which slightly decreased our overall percentage of SmartWay carrier miles, but we maintained our status as a SmartWay Partner.