Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility at Hearst

Dedicated to responsible sourcing, Hearst requires that all paper mills the company purchases from operate under a third-party certified chain of custody program. This ensures that 100 percent of the fiber entering the mill is traced to its origin and complies with controlled logging standards, i.e., the fiber is legally harvested and does not come from endangered forests.

Hearst has partnered with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative on multiple projects to help protect and sustainably utilize forests, including working to make third-party forest certification more efficient and accessible. Criteria for certification includes the use of sustainable harvesting techniques, as well as protection of wildlife habitat, soil and water. These projects have led to the certification of over 10 million acres of land. 

In an effort to promote the conservation of paper, 95 percent of Hearst publications that do not reach the reader—print overruns, damaged or unsold newsstand copies—are recycled.

Additionally, Hearst UK has pledged to replace all plastic magazine bags with sustainably-sourced paper wraps on its subscriber copies by January 2020.