I’ve been following our own internal Nature Green Blog recently, and wanted to share the following post.

Nature Geoscience – It’s so green, you can make soup with it
By Loida Valentin

Nature Geoscience is the only NPG journal that uses 100% recycled paper. The cover stock consists of 75% recycled and 25% FSC stock managed certified paper. The coverstock is a different thickness, which was required to ensure that the cover would not easily tear, or become damaged during shipping. Poly-bagged in 100% biodegradable plastic, all inks used in Nature Geoscience are vegetable based — it’s so environmentally friendly, “you could make soup with it” according to publisher Jason Wilde.

This is a commendable decision, as this journal “content reflects all the disciplines within the geosciences, including studies of the atmosphere, the oceans, glaciers and ice sheets and the solid Earth.” Given it’s green-friendly mission, it isn’t surprising that N.Geo uses environmentally friendly materials within it’s journal.

You may notice that Nature Geoscience feels different than other journals; it’s pages are not coated. The pages are matte, and the lack of heavy, glossy coating makes the journal more environmentally friendly (note: the cover is lightly coated). According to Jason, experimentation was required to find the perfect combination of recycled paper and vegetable inks to achieve brightness and contrast – recycled paper absorbs ink in a different manner than regular paper.

Do any group members have more to add on how to make journal publishing more ecologically sound and sustainable?