Sustainability

Peter Harrington: Sustainability Communication

At Peter Harrington we are committed to taking an active role in better understanding our own business and taking decisive steps to reduce our impact on the environment.

Whilst we recognise that we are not able to completely eradicate our environmental footprint, we are committed to making sensible decisions that significantly reduce it.

To this end we engaged an external assessor, Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd, to undertake a carbon footprint baseline assessment and assist us in developing an action plan to help us manage this process.

You can find a brief summary of the key findings below.

Our Present Position

• Peter Harrington’s annual emissions baseline footprint totalled 451 tonnes CO2e, based on pre-pandemic 2019 operational data and assessed in 2022. This baseline was established to identify key emissions sources and priorities for improvement.
• We are fortunate that our sector already has some inherent positive environmental outcomes, as the commodities we buy and sell allow us to keep rare books (and their associated embodied carbon) in circulation for as long as possible, extending their life.
• We recognise, however, that the sector has inherent challenges. Packaging and international shipping of catalogues and books generate both carbon and waste. With many rare books being of high value, product protection is our first priority when considering packaging and transport options. We try to carefully balance options that may reduce the packaging’s carbon footprint (e.g. through material selection, or improved recyclability) with aspects such as durability and moisture protection.
• The trade of rare books is also predominantly driven through global fairs, events and face-to-face meetings requiring international air travel. Whilst we have embraced virtual events and meetings in our day-to-day operations, changing the way we engage with our clients in a lower-carbon manner is an area where we continue to seek innovative and sustainable long-term solutions.

Steps Towards Greater Sustainability

The outcome of our carbon baselining and sustainability review has led to the development of an action plan to reduce Peter Harrington’s emissions.

We have undertaken, or are currently implementing, a range of positive business actions such as:

• Avoiding or minimising business air travel where possible;
• Reviewing packaging options and materials used. Wherever possible we use paper-based packaging materials, and our packaging materials are re-used or recyclable. The only plastic packaging currently used is bubble wrap, which can be recycled through soft-plastic recycling streams;
• Utilising reusable transit packaging and fair equipment;
• Evaluating opportunities to reduce the impact of company vehicles, including plans to introduce an electric delivery van for domestic deliveries between our UK sites;
• Proactively considering the introduction of sustainability measures into the refurbishment of our new Regal Place premises, including the installation of rooftop solar panels to help meet summer energy requirements. Refurbishing an existing building rather than demolishing and rebuilding has also helped retain much of the building’s embodied carbon; and
• Implementing carbon offsetting options – all our catalogues are produced using Carbon Balanced Paper, a measurable initiative that offsets the carbon emissions associated with our office paper and marketing communications through conservation projects undertaken by World Land Trust (WLT).

We are committed to operating more sustainably through practical action and continual improvement.