Can Going Green Help Publishers, or Just Planet Earth?

This question is at the center of an article I wrote, which was just published this month on the Independent Book Publishers Association's (IBPA) monthly journal, the Independent.

Here's the first paragraphs from the article:

Forecasting the future of books and the book industry seems to be becoming a national sport. All bets are open, but although no one really knows what the future holds for the industry, there’s no doubt that changes are happening fast and that publishers who don’t adjust to current trends will find themselves in a very unfavorable position.

One current broad trend is going green. You can see evidence of it almost everywhere and increasingly often. But is going green a good fit for book publishers? Can going green help the book industry meet its ever-growing challenges?

So, Can Going Green Help Publishers, or Just Planet Earth? You're welcome to read the rest of the article here and find out!

You're also welcome to read the last article I published on the Independent - is E-Reading Really Greener?

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Green Books Campaign: Co-opportunity by John Grant

This review is part of the Green Books campaign.Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

The book we review on the Green Books campaign is:

Co-opportunity: Join Up for a Sustainable, Resilient, Prosperous World

Author: John Grant

John Grant was one of the co-founders of St Luke's (the socially aware London ad agency) and is the author of 4 previous bestselling books on new frontiers in marketing, media and innovation. John's sustainable marketing and innovation clients include (the UK Government) ACTONCO2, Cisco, The Co-operative Bank, The Design Council, The Guardian, innocent drinks, IKEA, ING, i-Team (a local government initiative), O2, Philips, The Royal Mail, SSE, Unilever. John is a prolific international speaker, writer, blogger, commentator and is an associate of Forum for the Future, Demos and an Observer Ethical Awards judge.

John Grant's blog is greenormal.

Publisher: Wiley

Published on: March 2010

What this book is about? (from the publisher's website)

John Grant is back! Bestselling author of Green Marketing Manifesto fame returns to get you involved in creating a sustainable future!

In this book, green business guru John Grant shows how we, when we join forces through co-operative initiatives, can really make changes and work towards a better future.

John uses cases and examples from around the world, from social networks to social ventures, Carrot Mobbing to the Carbon Disclosure Project, to show how a move to greater co-operation via what he calls Co-operative Networks can be a way forwards for all of us to increase the common well-being.

Arguing that a climate for change can be created by engaging rather than alienating people, John also demonstrates ways of ‘relocating dreams’ to allow us to reassess our desires and priorities.

Whether you are a business leader, politician, armchair economist, environmentalist or general interest reader, the inspiration and ideas John Grant provides in Co-Opportunity encourages us all to think again about our individual behaviour and our actions – our ideas of what it is to be human - and to get co-creating to build a better world for all. Sit back and watch, or become part of this grass roots new movement.

What we think about it?

Let me start by saying this is a brilliant book. I read many green- and sustainability- themed books and I find Co-opportunity one of the most important and mind provoking ones I've ever read.

In days where some environmentalists and just ordinary people are in despair as they read about the death of the cap and trade in Washington (was it ever alive?) and see the inability of governments to agree on a global platform for action, this book provides a moment or two of optimism.

John Grant is looking in a systematic way at the things in our life that we might take for granted but are broken and need to be fixed. And he suggests compelling arguments about the way we should fix it: together. His call for changes, as well as suggestions on how we can change both our mindset and behavior is far from being naive. On the contrary, he is very realistic and understands the limits and the compromises of real life. Still, armed with tons of interesting examples he is very convincing in getting you to believe that things can be different if we would only adopt the right approach.

I think this book is a great fit with the Green Books Campaign as this campaign is exactly the type of the many co-operative initiatives described in the book, and our hope is that the joint work of readers, authors, publishers, retailers and organizations that are involved in the campaign will help moving the book forward towards a more sustainable future.

This book is printed using acid free paper, responsibly manufactured from sustainable forestry in which at least two trees are planted for each one used for paper production.

Co-Opportunity for Sustainable Change - John Grant from Sustainable Brands on Vimeo.

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the publisher.

If you're looking for other interesting green books, please check out the Green Books Campaign's page at www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp .

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Green Books Campaign: Prizes for the bloggers!

The Green Books Campaign includes 200 bloggers that review today at 1:00PM EST 200 books printed on eco-friendly paper. We got some great prizes for them from three publishers: Simon & Schuster Audio, Ghigo Press and Sterling Publishing.

Simon & Schuster Audio are providing the campaign with prizes for the second year! This year they have some great audiobooks for the bloggers:

The Playbook by Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn. Read by: Neil Patrick Harris

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld. Illustrated by: Keith Thompson / Read by: Alan Cumming.

YOU: Raising Your Child by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet Oz. Read by: Michele Pawk, Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C Oz

Here We Go Again by Betty White. Read by: Betty White

127 Hours Movie Tie- In by Aron Ralston

Read by: Aron Ralston

Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi. Read by: Portia de Rossi

Ghigo Press is giving three 2011 calendars, printed on 100 percent recycled paper with soy ink. The calendars include a Vinifera wine calendar, Spice calendar and Coffee calendar, all part of the publisher's line of Wine, Coffee and Spice education products that will entertain and enlighten the curious gourmet.


Sterling Publishing is giving a set of Ecosystem, a line of 100% Post Consumer Recycled Notebooks. Ecosystem is a fresh line of notebooks with a pulse. With bold design for everyday life and inspired living, the system offers owners a collection of color, size and type combinations to engage any personality. The set includes 3 beautiful notebooks in different sizes and colors.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting green reading!

Green Books Campaign: Canopy is supporting the campaign and presenting their work with the book industry

We're happy to begin the Green Books Campaign's day with a guest post from our friends at Canopy. Based in Canada, Canopy is one of the most important forces pushing the book industry towards greater sustainability in the last decade and we're proud to have it as one of the supporters of the campaign (just like the Green Press Initiative, which we presented here couple of days ago).

Best known for our work to green the Harry Potter series internationally with the support of author J.K. Rowling, Canopy works to protect the world’s forests, species and climate by leveraging market forces to help publishers, printers and paper producers adopt environmental policies and practices that ensure conservation on the ground. Eco-Libris’ Green Books campaign bolsters this movement to include wider consumer engagement. Given that 60-80% of a publisher’s environmental footprint is attributable to the papers it prints its books on, we are excited to work with the Eco-Libris Green Books Campaign to help book lovers save the world’s forests by choosing books that are printed on environmental papers.

Canopy works with more than 700 publishers and printers, including Random House, Scholastic and Lonely Planet, and literary giants such as Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood, to reduce dramatically the impact book production has on our fragile planet. By harnessing the purchasing influence of major publishers and printers, Canopy has been able to broker large-scale conservation agreements such as the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement and the world’s largest conservation initiative, the new Boreal Forest Agreement. It is through such major agreements that real conservation progress is made.

Such progress is thanks in no small part to the remarkable changes we’ve seen in the past decade since starting our work with book publishers. The marketplace has progressed from no environmental book-grade papers being commercially available in North America in 2000, to millions of books now being printed on environmental papers. As a book lover, that’s good news!

Recognizing the critical role that book lovers and retailers play in the industry, Canopy also works with market leaders such Indigo Books & Music to help them not only green their own business practices, but also foster environmental leadership within the publishing industry. Our joint work with Indigo also enables readers to make informed purchasing decisions by transparently providing information about a book’s environmental qualities online and at store kiosks.

So how can you tell if a book is printed on environmental paper? Consumers should look for one of the following:

• An eco-audit at the back of a book, listing exactly what kind of paper each part of the book (pages, cover) contains
• The Ancient Forest Friendly label
• Statements that the book is printed on 100% Post Consumer Recycled paper, or on Forest Stewardship Council certified paper

This information may be included in a number of places in the book, including the back jacket, inside jacket, or the copyright page, directly after the title page.

As the final stop in the supply chain – the demand – readers are of course essential to the success of both individual titles and the overall industry. Know that you can be the tail that wags the dog in a greener direction. Vote with your wallet: purchase books that are printed on environmental papers. Your support of publishers and retailers who are taking environmental leadership and campaigns such as this helps increase demand for responsibly sourced books. And that helps position organizations like Canopy as stronger advocates for the world’s forests, species, and climate.

We want to thank again Canopy for their support of the campaign and assistance in getting the word out! You can find more information about Canopy's work, as well as resources on the impacts of the book industry and available eco-friendly paper options at http://www.ecolibris.net/greenbooksresources.asp

The Campaign's page is www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp .You can also follow the campaign on Facebook and twitter.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting green reading!

The green agenda of the Green Books Campaign's publishers - part 8: WSU Press

Less than 24 hours to the launch of the Green Books Campaign (tomorrow, at 1:00 PM), and we continue to present some of the publishers that participate in the campaign and their thoughts on why it's important that books will be printed in an eco-friendly manner.

Our guest is Washington State University Press.

WSU Press is part of Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. A member of the Association of American University Presses, we publish in a wide variety of genres, including scholarly and trade monographs, reminiscences, essays, and biographies. We seek imaginative works that tell the story of the West in innovative ways. Currently, we publish 4-6 titles each year. We are proud to be a "green" press.The WSU campus printing facility where most of our books are published, was the first university publisher to become FSC certified.

WSU Press is participating in the campaign with the following books (all printed on FSC-certified paper):

1. America’s Nuclear Wastelands by Max Power

2. An Election for the Ages by Trova Heffernan

3. Finding Chief Kamiakin: The Life and Legacy of a Northwest Patriot by Richard Scheuerman and Michael Finley

4. Greenscapes: Olmsted's Pacific Northwest by Joan Hockaday

5. Making the Grade: Plucky Schoolmarms of Kittitas Country Barb Owen

6. Season of Suffering: Coming of Age in Occupied France, 1940-45 by Nicole Taflinger

7. Shaper of Seattle: Reginald Heber Thomson's Pacific Northwest by William Wilson

8. Slick as a Mitten: Ezra Meeker's Klondike Enterprise by Dennis Larsen

9. Tree Top: Creating a Fruit Revolution by David Stratton

You can read more information on all of these books at wsupress.wsu.edu/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=54

And now to the questionnaire (all publishers were asked to reply the same four questions):

Why do you believe books should be printed on eco-friendly paper?
Books should be printed on eco-friendly paper because it is one way publishers can contribute to preserving the environment. When done responsibly, paper, and by extension, books, can be produced in an economically sustainable way. A key facet of that is to support paper manufacturers who also are committed to preserving the environment all across the supply chain, from the tree to the final product.

What is your policy on using eco-friendly paper?
Our policy is to select eco-friendly paper whenever possible. In March 2008, Washington State University’s in-house printing plant became the first at a higher education institution to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). WSU Press books do not currently display the logo, but we have plans to change that soon.

Are there other ways you're going green?
Washington State University has been limiting paper use, using soy-based inks, recycling waste products, and purchasing Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified papers for many years. The university has purchased a full-color digital printer, which requires substantially less paper for proofs.

For offset printing, a recent acquisition is equipment that moves directly from electronic files to plates, eliminating the need for the intermediate step of film. Because WSU owns the printing presses, we are able to print, warehouse, and ship our books from our campus location. Our books are manufactured in America and our press operators are paid a living wage.

What's your advice to readers that would like to make their book purchasing more sustainable?
Readers can try to become familiar with the members and logos of organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council, the Green Press Initiative, or the Rainforest Alliance, and look for those publishers and products that have the logos before making purchases.

Thank you WSU Press for your work and your participation in the Green Books Campaign!

The Green Books Campaign's page is http://www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp. You can also follow the campaign on Facebook and twitter.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Indigo Partners with Eco-Libris to Promote Green Books

Indigo Books & Music, the largest book retailer in Canada, but also a green leader among book retailers worldwide. And they are also partnering with Eco-Libris on the Green Books Campaign.

Yes, we're very happy to have the support of of Indigo Books & Music, as part of its efforts to draw attention to the need for more environmental paper in book publishing. This is a core goal of Indigo's environmental program and is reinforced by Indigo's industry leading environmental paper policy. You can read more about it on Indigo's environment page.

One of the things I like most about Indigo is that they're the only retailer that actually provides readers with an easy way to find information on books that are printed on eco-friendly paper. It is integrated in their advance search options and it's very easy to use. This is just one part one their sustainable efforts, but has a great significance - otherwise, how readers that want to buy a book online can actually tell if it's printed on eco-friendly paper on not? I can only hope other retailers will follow Indigo's leadership and provide readers with this information.

Last week Indigo issued a press release on the campaign, which is enclosed below:

Indigo Partners with Eco-Libris to Promote Green Books

- Blogger Engagement Campaign to raise awareness of sustainable book publishing -

TORONTO, Nov. 3 /CNW/ - On November 10, 2010, at 1:00 pm EST, Eco-Libris in partnership with Indigo Books & Music is launching a campaign to use the power of the internet and social media to raise awareness of books printed on environmental paper and its significance to forest conservation. Two hundred bloggers will review their selections from 200 books that have been printed on recycled paper and/or are FSC certified. These books will encompass an assortment of mainstream adult and children's titles.

Indigo is pleased to be the only book retailer supporting Eco-Libris in these awareness efforts. Participation in this campaign highlights Indigo's commitment to the use of environmental papers in book publishing, a core goal of Indigo's environmental paper policy which aims to eliminate the use of wood fibre from endangered forests and facilitate a broader sustainability shift in the publishing and paper supply chain.

Michelle White, Director, Sustainability at Indigo Books & Music said, "Indigo has a strong forest conservation mandate and we believe that physical books printed on environmental paper are a sustainable choice. We commend Eco-Libris for reinforcing this message and engaging readers to take this issue into consideration when purchasing books. In fact, Indigo provides information online and though in-store kiosk that allows consumers to make informed decisions about where the paper content of their book comes from".

"The Green Books Campaign celebrates sustainable reading, presenting booklovers worldwide with great options in books that are printed using eco-friendly paper. Although there's so much hype today around e-books, books printed on paper remain dominant in book retailing and it is important to us all that they will be as environmentally sound as possible," says Raz Godelnik, CEO of Eco-Libris. "We are happy to collaborate with Indigo in this campaign as not only they are a green leader in the book industry, but they are also the only book retailer that actually provides readers with an easy way to find information on books that are printed on eco-friendly paper."

To learn more about Indigo's environmental program, please go to chapters.indigo.ca/environment.

About Indigo Books & Music Inc.

Indigo is a publicly traded Canadian company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:IDG). As the largest book retailer in the country, Indigo operates in all provinces under different banners including Indigo Books & Music; Indigo Books, Gifts, Life; IndigoSpirit, Chapters, The World's Biggest Bookstore, and Coles. The online division, www.chapters.indigo.ca, features books, eBooks, toys, music and DVDs, and hosts the award winning Indigo Online Community. In 2008, Indigo launched Pistachio, an eco-aware lifestyle store featuring stationery, gifts and home décor, and apothecary.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

10 things you can do tomorrow on the Green Books Campaign

The Green Books Campaign is almost here!

Tomorrow, November 10, at 1 p.m., 200 bloggers will simultaneously publish reviews of 200 books printed on environmentally-friendly paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using greener methods, Eco-Libris aims to raise consumer awareness about considering the environment when making book purchases.

The 200 books to be reviewed are in a variety of subjects including cooking, poetry, travel, green living, and history, and come from 56 publishers from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. that are participating in the Green Books Campaign.

Full list of participating books and bloggers is available at http://www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp.

Join us tomorrow to a great celebration of green books! How you can participate in the campaign? Here are 10 ideas:

1. Check the reviews of books on the campaign's list that look interesting to you and add your comments to their reviews.

2. Tweet the campaign (you can also follow it on twitter).

3. Post it in your Facebook status update and join the conversation on the campaign's Facebook page.

4. Learn more about the green agenda of some of the participating publishers on Eco-Libris blog.

5. Update your green and lit LinkedIn groups about the campaign.

6. Find a book on the campaign's list that you already read and loved? Write a review on Amazon mentioning the green aspect of the book.

7. Post it on literary websites and social networks, like BookMooch, Goodreads, LibraryThing, BookRabbit and others.

8. Check out the unique search feature of Indigo Books & Music that enables you to identify books that are printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper.

9. Learn more why it is important to print books on eco-friendly paper by visiting the campaign's resources page (will be operating by Wednesday)

10. See a book on the campaign's list that you would like to read? Buy it for yourself or as a green gift to someone you care about. You're also invited to look for it on your local library!

Have more ideas? Please add a comment and share them with us.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!