Cymellia House is committed to a sustainable future for our business, our readers and our planet. On this page, you will find out more about some of the ways we practice sustainability, and how it affects the world around us.
FSC Certification
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes “environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests...”. FSC-certified paper reduces the ecological impact of printing whilst supporting local communities. These communities receive a percentage of the income from forest or sawmill work, and indigenous people within/around are protected throughout the process. Forests are essential in the fight against climate change, as they hold numerous vast ecosystems that contribute a great deal to our planet.
Woodland Trust Paper
Woodland Trust paper is made to high enviromental standards, as every sheet purchased supports the organisation's mission to protect and restore woodlands. This paper is chlorine-free, which minimises harmful emissions, and energy for production is often sourced from waste materials. It is one of the most sustainable choices paper.
Plant-Based Inks
Cymellia House uses vegetable-based inks as opposed to petroleum-based inks, which contain finite crude oil and emit harmful VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into the air during production. This manufacturing process contributes largely to CO2 emissions, which drive climate change and damage the environment further. Plant-based inks are biodegradable, renewable and non-toxic. They are also easy to de-ink, and no harmful chemicals are needed to do so.
A Human Touch
The use of AI, particularly in art and literature, and especially generative, is absolutely discouraged in-house. We expect our authors and artists to produce human-made art, which is what we seek out solely. It is important for us to elevate authors and artists like this. We also believe it important, as part of our Keep a Human Touch policy, that any such software does not, in any way, replace the jobs, ingenuity or importance of humans.
We do not outsource thought, we do not play pretend, and we value the critical thinking and creativity of humans. We will not stand meekly by while such systems learn from our unreleased works and feed them to anyone who would ask for it, without making our disapproval and denouncement public. It is astounding to us, how many would rather play writer than actually write. Our position on this is firm and unwavering. Publishing and art licensing contracts will now include a clause dictating its abrupt cancellation if any such systems have been used to produce any part of the work. Copyright sections of every book will now include the following; ‘No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.’ It will also include a confirmation that the work was produced by human(s). We passionately, and aggressively, defend the intellectual property that belongs to our authors and artists.
AI systems, mainly large language models and those used in data centres, consume significant amounts of energy, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. The hardware used in AI requires energy and resources for production, transportation, maintenance, and disposal, leading to electronic waste and pollution. Data centers require a lot of physical space, which can potentially disrupt local ecosystems. They also require significant amounts of water for cooling, potentially exacerbating water scarcity issues in some regions (United Nations Envitonment Programme).