Social Impact at Hachette Book Group

Social Impact at Hachette Book Group

“At Hachette Book Group, we believe strongly in sustainable business practices and doing our part to create a better world. Our standards and policies are intended to make us a diverse and inclusive company, to protect the natural world and promote the responsible use of its resources, and to support the growth of a literate community. Together with our employees and our external partners, HBG works constantly to advance these concerns through our Social Impact programs.”

– Michael Pietsch
CEO, Hachette Book Group

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Our Commitment to Diversity

As a leading book publisher, we believe that including and representing diverse voices in all aspects of our business is fundamental to what we do. Our staff and our publishing programs must reflect the broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas that shape our society. We are committed to working together and with all our partners to foster diversity and a culture of inclusion, so that HBG can provide a truly welcoming and fulfilling environment for all employees and publish books that appeal to all readers.

Diversity Reports

At HBG we are committed to reporting publicly on our progress toward our DEI goals. You can read our updates here:

Hachette Partnerships

HBG partners with the following four organizations to support a broader community of emerging writers and early and mid-career publishing professionals: City College of New York, Hurston/Wright Foundation, Lambda Literary, and We Need Diverse Books.

No other organization in the world serves LGBTQIA+ writers and readers more comprehensively than Lambda Literary and by supporting Lambda, HBG helps to expand the audience for LGBTQIA+ literature by providing fellowship, professional development, and networking opportunities for aspiring writers.
HBG partners with Hurston/Wright to offer the support and resources to expand the presence of aspiring Black authors and will launch a Hurston/Wright-Hachette Summer Writer-in-Residency and a 7-Day Summer Writing Workshop at Rutgers University in 2022.
We Need Diverse Books has recognized that retention in Publishing is as important as diversifying publishing. In 2002, HBG will be a “founding partner” of WNDB’s (TBA) Mid-level Career Retention program, which will include programming, resources, and support for diverse mid-career publishing professionals to assist in their career development and growth.
In 2022, City College of NY and HBG will launch an Associates Program, offered to one high achieving recent undergraduate of the CCNY per year, and will include enrollment into HBG’s Associates program: a paid full-time 12-month work experience at HBG along with a financial stipend for clothes, tech, housing, etc. mentorship and career development skills to assist with the transition from college student to publishing professional.

Our Partners

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

HBG’s Employee Resource Groups form around a shared identity (ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, etc.) and are a safe space for employees to connect with each other, speak freely and share experiences.

Asian and Pacific American
Black
Employees of Color
Employees with Disabilities
LGBTQIA+ & Trans and Gender Non-Conforming
Latinx
Non-Majority Religions
Women in Publishing
Parents and Caregivers

DEI Subcommittees: Specific diversity subcommittees focus on recruitment efforts, and creating a supportive and inclusive office culture.

Hachette Book Group’s Diversity Advisory Board

Hachette Book Group’s Diversity Advisory Board is a volunteer committee of employees across HBG, whose mission is to support and further HBG’s DEI initiatives in the following ways:

Advise and support the growth of innovative diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives to improve the company culture, community, and experience of working at HBG.
Develop an inclusive publishing environment by bringing together and retaining employees with different backgrounds, viewpoints, and experiences to best serve our readership.
Recommend the DE&I initiatives to address, track and prioritize to ensure we’re taking an inclusive approach.

Environmental Sustainability

Our Commitment to the Environment

Hachette Book Group’s environmental policy demonstrates our commitment to the environment, to the responsible use of natural resources, and to sustainable business practice. The company’s comprehensive environmental policy, launched in November 2009, includes progressive goals on recycled fiber use, greenhouse gas emissions, responsible paper sourcing, and a wide range of other initiatives.

We are committed to transparency through reporting annually on our progress toward our environmental goals. You can read our most recent report here.

Highlights:

In 2020, 100% of HBG’s overall paper usage came from FSC (Forest Stewardship Certified) and SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) fiber, for the second consecutive year.
In 2020, recycled fiber was 9.2% of our overall paper usage, flat compared to 2019, and our recycled tonnage increased by 6%.
We remain committed to sourcing recycled papers when they are available in the marketplace and to push our suppliers to integrate recycled fiber into more paper products.
The most significant area for carbon impact for a book publisher is from paper – its manufacture and usage in the books we publish.
We insist upon supply chain transparency and verification through supplier surveys and fiber testing, which enabled us to eliminate high-risk sources like Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL).
Committed to transparency through our public annual reporting of progress on our environmental targets.
Rainforest Action Network ranked Hachette Book Group in the “Leader” category among publishers.

Lincoln Park Zoo (Boston)

Yerba Buena Island Stewardship (Berkeley)

Earth’s Table (Boulder)

Norma Todd’s Lunch Break (New Jersey)

Love Inc (Indiana)

Charitable Giving & Community

Our Commitment to Charitable Giving and Community

HBG supports organizations dedicated to promoting literacy and a love of books and reading. We are wholeheartedly devoted to fostering a robust publishing industry, to attending to the serious issue of illiteracy in this country, to protecting freedom of expression, and to supporting efforts for equity and social justice.

We focus our philanthropic efforts primarily on the following areas:

Trade organizations, which keep the book business healthy and reading central to our lives.
Literacy organizations, which help teach an invaluable skill.
Author assistance groups, giving authors in need the support to practice their craft.
First Amendment rights groups, which help protect free speech and expression here and around the world.
Equality and social justice organizations, to help create lasting change in our communities and our society.
HBG authors’ causes and those championed by HBG staff are very important to us – this can range from a local library’s fundraiser to an author’s favorite worthy organization.
Cultural organizations that help spread the word about books and reading.

Book Donations

We donate more than 100,000 copies annually, from a single signed copy for a fundraiser to large quantities for a struggling school district or library system. We focus on donating books to communities in need.

All requests for financial and book donations are handled by HBG’s Communications department. If you feel that your organization or cause is in line with our goals of supporting literacy and a love of reading, please send all requests to donation.requests@hbgusa.com.

Community Outreach

Hachette Cares is a way for HBG to give back to the community by providing company sponsored volunteer activities, support for employee’s existing volunteer activities and time off from work to engage in those activities.

Hachette works with a wide array of organizations to provide volunteering opportunities. Some of those organizations are shown below: