Australian independent book publisher Exploring Eden Media says it is committed to publishing local advice and hard-won expertise for people who want authentic travel-related information. Its 100 Things To See travel guides to the Kimberley, Tropical North Queensland and Australia’s Coral Coast have become the go-to guides for each area, each written by locals for travellers who aren’t tourists. Its most recent book, Fire To Fork, is the best-selling outdoor cookbook in Australia.
The company says the average book contributes approximately 2.5 kg of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, per copy, and it has committed to offsetting 10 times that for each and every book it sells. To that end, Exploring Eden Media has partnered with Australian not-for-profit organisation Greenfleet to offset 25 kg of CO2 emissions for each book sold, helping Greenfleet plant native, biodiverse forests in Australia.
In December alone the commitment – part of a broader pledge by the company to do more than its fair share for the environment – helped offset nearly 30,000 kg of carbon-dioxide emissions. That’s approximately the emissions from burning 15 tonnes of coal or driving 6.5 cars for a year.
Exploring Eden Media was founded in 2018 and despite the challenges of COVID, has grown into a thriving specialist publisher, producing some of Australia’s most sought after travel guides and books.
Co-founder Brendan Batty said, “As book publishers we are exceptionally aware of the impact our small business has on the environment. We’re consumers of trees, fossil fuels, minerals and chemicals, most, if not all, of which have detrimental effects on the finite resources of this planet we love to explore. We are continually trying to find ways to overcome those issues. Already, we’ve eliminated single-use plastic from our shipping processes and we’ve committed to only using Forest Stewardship Council approved paper in all our books. But there’s still more we hope to do.”
Wayne Wescott, CEO of Greenfleet said, “At Greenfleet, we are restoring native forests and growing climate hope thanks to the contributions of our dedicated supporters, such as Exploring Eden Media.”
'Year after year, individuals and organisations help Greenfleet plant more biodiverse native forests to capture carbon emissions, and it’s their continuous support which makes a tangible and positive difference to the environment,” added Mr Wescott.
In taking this action, Exploring Eden Media is not increasing the price of any of its books, nor will it pass the costs onto retailers, bookshops, authors or production partners. Instead, it’s taking on the cost burden as a ‘privilege’ to help protect the environment it encourages its readers to explore.