How Macmillan Publishers is cutting costs and emissions through smarter book design

Challenge

From sustainability values to science-based targets

Macmillan has long treated sustainability as a core value. All of the paper used in its books is FSC-certified, and the majority is groundwood paper derived from timber industry waste. Plus, leadership and employee buy-in are strong. Sustainability is a genuine company value, not a compliance exercise. "Sustainability has been a priority for Macmillan for a very long time,” says Caitlyn LaCorata-Smith, the company’s ESG Director.

But foundational practices weren't enough to meet a new level of ambition the company committed to: a science-based target of 38% absolute scope 3 reduction by 2035. With most of Macmillan's emissions sitting in scope 3 with 20–30 key suppliers driving the bulk of the footprint, it would need a robust way to measure, track, and act on emissions across its supply chain.

Macmillan previously relied on a legacy platform to analyze emissions data, but it had become outdated and couldn't handle the scale or complexity of the organization. As a result, there was no way to see how a production or design decision affected emissions. LaCorata-Smith knew her team needed both external supplier engagement and internal cross-functional buy-in, but their tooling couldn't provide the data to achieve either.

“We wanted a system that could be a holistic platform that could hold all information related to our sustainability program—reporting, reduction targets, supplier performance, all in one place.”

Caitlyn LaCorata-Smith,
ESG Director, Macmillan

Solution

Cutting emissions through book design

With Watershed, Macmillan's ESG team could finally see where emissions were concentrated across its supply chain, providing the visibility necessary to strengthen the Sustainable Book Design Initiative, a joint effort between the company’s ESG, production, and design teams to identify where design changes can be made to lower the environmental impact of a book.

"The initiative is focused on making small visual changes that result in meaningful emissions and cost reductions at scale without sacrificing quality or aesthetics," explains LaCorata-Smith. The approach deliberately focuses on small adjustments that compound at scale and that production teams can adopt without disrupting their work. "Our strategy is incremental—reducing finishes, tightening margins, shifting paper weights,” she says. “All of these small steps can add up, and eventually these practices become the norm."

The deeper visibility into supply chain data that the team gained through Watershed confirmed the Initiative’s first move, which was to switch Macmillan's standard paperback stock from 38 lb to 35 lb paper. Lighter paper means fewer raw materials, lower transportation weight, and lower material costs. “Watershed confirmed the impact of our swap, and as we expand our opportunities beyond paper weight we'll be able to see our impact at scale and throughout the supply chain,” says LaCorata-Smith.

Now, Macmillan is expanding the data layer behind these decisions. Through Watershed's Product Carbon Footprint tool, the team is beginning to model how specific design choices—paper weight, page count, finishes—affect emissions at the product level. The goal: compare past material decisions against potential improvements in the production graph, then apply those findings to future titles. The team is also using Watershed's Supply Chain module to gather supplier-specific emissions data that integrates directly into the platform, giving the ESG team a more accurate picture of where reductions are possible across its network of suppliers.

Results

Proving the case—and building the playbook

The paper switch delivered savings, but for LaCorata-Smith, it delivered something harder to get: proof that sustainability and quality aren't a trade-off. To make the case, production teams prepared examples of the new paper applied to individual books, offering side-by-side visual comparisons. The ESG team layered in emissions reductions. The production team shared the cost savings. "Showing that these two things can be reduced simultaneously really helped to sell that specific adjustment," says LaCorata-Smith.

Since its fall 2025 print cycle, the lighter stock has been applied to most reprints and new trade paperbacks. Macmillan estimates the change will save hundreds of thousands of pounds of paper over the coming years, with seven-figure cost savings projected at scale.

That first win established the playbook LaCorata-Smith now brings to every effort: lead with the full picture—emissions, cost, and quality—so sustainability lands as ROI, not a trade-off. She also strives to share results frequently across departments and connect each decision back to the 2035 target, ultimately framing climate risk as business risk: supply chain disruptions, rising material prices, and weather events all hit publishing directly.

Accelerating with AI

LaCorata-Smith's philosophy on AI is straightforward: use it to speed up decarbonization, not for its own sake.

“The faster we get clean, reliable data and insights, the faster we can develop and act on decarbonization plans.”

Caitlyn LaCorata-Smith,
ESG Director, Macmillan

Through Watershed's AI Fellowship, she built an emissions education agent skill designed to be replicated across departments. It shows each team how they're performing year over year, how they contribute to Macmillan's overall footprint, where they have the greatest influence, and what decarbonization levers are available to them. She paired it with an emissions education deck that maps footprint data against Macmillan's business plans—showing how projected growth will affect emissions and progress toward targets. The team has begun socializing both tools with relevant internal departments and is mapping tailored plans for each one.

LaCorata-Smith says the AI agent's biggest value has been translating platform data into formats that connect emissions to each team's day-to-day. "Having these tools readily available helps connect the emissions data more directly to people's work, which opens up conversations and allows us to identify opportunities for improvement together."

On the regulatory side, Macmillan has used Watershed's Disclosure & Reporting module to begin drafting responses for California's SB 253 and SB 261 climate disclosure requirements. The team anticipates saving several weeks of drafting and internal review time.

“Ultimately, all of these efficiencies allow us to focus on the most important work—decarbonization projects and program implementation. The more we can spend our time on reducing our emissions, the better.”

Caitlyn LaCorata-Smith,
ESG Director, Macmillan

The road to 2035

The Sustainable Book Design Initiative is expanding to evaluate foils, embossing, jacket finishes, compact fonts, and page count reduction. "Even reducing a book by 16 pages across several print runs will have an impact on cost and emissions," LaCorata-Smith says. With Watershed's Product Carbon Footprint tool, the team is beginning to model how specific design choices affect emissions at the product level—comparing past material decisions against potential improvements, then applying those findings to future titles. The team is also using Watershed's Supply Chain module to gather supplier-specific emissions data that integrates directly into the platform, giving the ESG team a more accurate picture of where reductions are possible across its network of suppliers.

Internally, LaCorata-Smith is building toward a model where every department understands its contribution to Macmillan's footprint. "Our science-based targets will require collaboration across the business to ensure that each department understands its impact on our overall emissions," she explains. The emissions education tools built through the Fellowship are the starting point.

"I'm fortunate to work for a company that takes a long-term view and treats this as a genuine strategic priority," she says. "And Watershed has been essential to that work."