McGraw-Hill Companies is probably best known as the publisher of BusinessWeek, but it’s also one of the largest publishers in the U.S. for education textbooks. You probably remember seeing the company’s name on everything from your first grade writing book to your college literature anthology.

Did you ever imagine that your favorite publisher would suddenly create an eco friendly book?

Well it has! McGraw-Hill Higher Education, which is a subsidiary of the McGraw-Hill Companies, recently announced that its new principles of writing textbook, titled A Writer’s Workshop: Crafting Paragraphs, Building Essays, is not only filled with lessons in writing, but it also teaches students to be conscious about the environment.

What’s the green book theme?

The amazing new idea to incorporate writing principles with environmental issues was created by a partnership between the McGraw-Hill Companies and the Arbor Day Foundation, the largest tree-planting organization in the world.

The goal of the McGraw-Hill Companies is to:

• Plant 60,000 trees in U.S. forests this year
• Teach students how to be green through activities, facts and tips
• Show students to decrease paper use by drafting and revising on the computer

The Writer’s Workshop link on the McGraw-Hill website also gives green advice to students and lets them track how many trees they have planted!

Oh, and did we mention that the book itself is made from10 percent post-consumer waste paper and soy-based ink?

This is a great idea for the eco-conscious student, and if more textbook publishers start producing green books then we just might be able to educate an entire college community about the important of living an eco lifestyle.

If you’re interested in planting trees with other organizations you can also check out these blog posts:

• Make a Statement with Tees for Change
• Buy a Tune, Plant a Tree

Source: PRNewswire