Self build and renovation experts BuildStore are going the extra 'green' mile by planting trees with the Big Green Mortgage Scheme at this month?s Big Green Home Show .

The Big Green Home Show brings together the latest thinking and innovation in eco construction materials and techniques to give you all the inspiration and ideas you'll need to build or renovate a greener home. So whether you're interested in creating a carbon neutral house, generating your own power, or simply making your home more energy efficient, it's all covered at the Big Green Home Show.

The Show will be held at BuildStore?s National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon, between Thursday 15th and Sunday 18th November. The Big Green Home Show will de-mystify 'green living' by examining the reality of living green, looking at all aspects of green homebuilding and eco-friendly lifestyles, with the help of the some Big Green Heroes in the shape of the BBC's Penney Poyzer, TV's friendliest builder, Tommy Walsh and the Big Green Giant himself, Dick Strawbridge.

Keen to match housebuilders and renovators enthusiasm for eco-friendly living, BuildStore has pledged to plant a tree for every customer who reviews their mortgage with BuildStore's Financial Services team at the Big Green Home Show, helping to lower the environmental impact of the carbon emissions.

Back in 2004, unwanted Christmas presents were estimated at around ?1.3bn. In the worst case scenario, they would go straight to landfills adding to the enormous amount of waste we already generate. In the best case scenario, those gifts will be returned, sold on or end up in Charity shops.   This Christmas will with no doubt be no different. So why not choose a present that can really make a difference. This holiday season, By Nature is launching a new range of Charity gifts. From UK Wildlife to Water Gardens in Bangladesh, there is something for everyone.

In association with Practical Action , By Nature offers a range of gifts designed to help support Practical Action?s work around the world. Founded over 40 years ago by Dr EF Schumacher, Practical Action is a charity which works with poor communities around the world with local people, building on their skills to create simple, workable, long-term answers to poverty. Practical Action has a unique approach to development ? they don't start with technology, but with people. The tools may be simple or sophisticated ? but to provide long-term, appropriate and practical answers, they must be firmly in the hands of local people: people who shape technology and control it for themselves. All the gifts presented are part of Practical Action?s current projects.

Eco-Libris blog reviews the big news from Simon & Schuster, one of the biggest publishing houses in the world, which announced on a new environmental initiative and paper policy.

The big news of this week came from Simon & Schuster (S&S), one of the big four publishing firms in the world (the Big Four) and a home to writers such as Stephen King, David McCullough, Ursula Hegi and Bob Woodward.

Associated Press reported last Thursday that Simon & Schuster announced on a new environmental initiative and paper policy that will dramatically increase the amount of recycled fiber in the paper used to manufacture its books.

The new policy includes the following goals:

1. For books printed and bound in the U.S. - an incrementally increase of the use of recycled fiber from its current 10% baseline level to a 25% or greater aggregate level by 2012.

2. Simon & Schuster will endeavor to have at least 10% of its paper Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified by 2012.

3. For books printed and bound in the United States, Simon & Schuster will endeavor to eliminate the use of paper that may contain fiber from endangered and old-growth forest areas.

4. By the end of 2007 and going forward, all Simon & Schuster shipping cartons will be made exclusively from 100% recycled post-consumer waste, subject to availability.

Firstly, this is good news for the environment - S&S purchases approximately 70,000 tons of paper annually. So at current production levels, the shift to 25 percent recycled fiber will result in saving approximately 483,000 trees annually and reducing greenhouse gases by nearly 85 million pounds!

This is also good news to all the book publishing industry because I believe this step will have further consequences. Such a step will certainly influence other publishers, especially the big ones that won't like to stay behind S&S. I am quite sure that the news from S&S gave the usage of recycled paper and other eco-friendly practices a much higher place than it used to have on the to-do list of many publishers.

Simon & Schuster developed its policy and will implement it with the help of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit organization, which is currently one of the most significant forces that work to move the book industry toward working in an eco-friendlier manner.

Now, I congratulate S&S for their big step, but I was wondering why it didn't go a little bit further and at least matched its goals with the Green Press Initiative's Industry Treatise. This treatise (Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper), already been adopted by more than 140 publishers.

Especially I'm referring to the treatise goal of "shifting the book industry's collective average use of recycled fiber from an estimated 5% recycled average at present to a 30% recycled industry average by 2012. " S&S said it will move to 25% by 2012 (or greater aggregate, which is a bit vague). The difference of 5% might sounds marginal, but we're talking here about almost 100,000 trees a year!

And just to remind you, we have already one of the Big Four that is committed to a goal of 30% recycled paper -Random House announced last year it will incrementally increase the recycled paper content of its books to 30% by 2010.

I also hope to see Simon & Schuster going further and take responsibility for all the trees cut down to supply their paper that is not sourced out of recycled paper or certified forests (FSC). Even on 2012, it will total to more than 1.5 million trees a year! Eco-Libris will certainly be willing to help here.

All in all, it's a great day to all the eco-conscious book lovers out there, and I look forward to reading more news from the book industry that will start like this : "Simon & Schuster, Inc., and its employees are committed to publishing in a manner that both respects the environment and helps to preserve the world?s great forest regions for the use and pleasure of future generations. "