The Booksellers Association of the UK & Ireland (BA) has today launched a £100k Sustainability Grant Fund to support booksellers in making tangible changes to reduce their environmental impact.

The BA’s new Sustainability Grant Fund is launched alongside a Carbon Calculator to help bookshops measure their carbon footprint to track change over time. The BA has also refreshed its Sustainable Bookselling Manifesto, and committed to making a number of changes within the Association, while giving members the opportunity to take the Sustainable Bookselling Pledge.
 
BA members can apply for a Sustainability Grant for between £250 and £1000 for a project to improve the sustainability of their business from today.
 
Meryl Halls, MD at the BA, said: “At the BA we are acutely aware that all of us in the book industry need to make our business practices more sustainable. However, we are also conscious that implementing change can come at a significant cost. We hope that by launching the BA Sustainability Grant Fund this will support our members in making impactful changes, while helping to reduce the cost to bookshops. We encourage members to share examples of best practice so that we can all work together towards a more sustainable future.
 
“The BA’s Sustainable Bookselling Manifesto is very much intended as the start of a wider conversation amongst booksellers and beyond, and it is presented as a living document to which we welcome suggestions and recommendations.”
 
Reflecting the BA’s commitment to reducing waste and environmentally damaging practices within the association, its membership, and throughout the supply chain, the BA’s Sustainability Manifesto outlines a number of steps that booksellers, the wider supply chain, and the BA itself can take to reduce their environmental impact, including:

• Recommendations that booksellers use local suppliers where appropriate, eliminate single-use plastics, become part of the circular economy, and switch to a green energy supplier
• The supply chain is called on to cease sending unsolicited proofs or marketing materials, move towards recyclable packaging, and phase out the inclusion of multiple paper sheets in deliveries
• The BA has committed to conducting a Green Audit of the association, sourcing eco-friendly products, facilitating remote conference access, and promoting lift sharing to events

 
Originally planned to launch at the BA Conference, the BA Sustainability Grant and Carbon Calculator have been announced ahead of the rescheduled BA Conference and Gardners Trade Show (30-31 October) given the pressing need to take action on sustainability.