The green agenda of the Green Books Campaign's publishers - part 7: Leap Books

We still have some time left before we begin with the Green Books Campaign on Wednesday, Nov 10, 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 today is Leap Books.

Leap Books is a fresh voice in fiction for teens and tweens. Our books take you on a journey into the unknown, into love, into discovery, into new worlds. So read them, and LEAP...

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

1. For the Love of Strangers by Jacqueline Horsfall will be reviewed on Melody's Reading Corner.

2. Freaksville by Kitty Keswick will be reviewed on Frenetic Reader.

3. Island Sting by Bonnie J. Doerr will be reviewed on Curling Up by the Fire.

4. I Was a Teenage Alien by Jane Greenhill will be reviewed on Book Reading Gals.

5. Under My Skin by Judith Graves will be reviewed on Cafe of Dreams.

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?
As the publisher of tween and teen books, Leap Books cares deeply about the audience we serve. We aim to produce books that encourage teens to read, enlarge their world, help them cope with life challenges, and provide pleasurable experiences. Because we care about teens, we want to ensure that they grow up in a clean, healthy world, one with plenty of trees and natural resources. Leap Books is committed not only to using eco-friendly paper, but to supporting environmental efforts in any way we can.

What is your policy on using eco-friendly paper?
We are committed to using eco-friendly paper for all our books and materials. We also participate in programs to plant trees to replace the paper we use for our books because we believe it’s important to renew any resources we deplete.

Are there other ways you're going green?
Leap Books opened with the intention of being as green as possible. In addition to contributing to environmental efforts, we also publish books with green themes. The first title we published, Island Sting by Bonnie J. Doerr is an eco-mystery about saving the endangered Key deer from poachers. The main characters in the book form a “green-teen” environmental group, Keys Teens Care, which works to clean up pollution and go green. Each of Doerr’s books in the series deals with saving an endangered animal as well as an environmental clean-up project. We’ve been told that the book has sparked “green-teen” groups around the country.

Author Bonnie Doerr also reports on teen efforts to go green on her blog, Bonnie Blogs Green, and a portion of the proceeds from this book have been donated to environmental groups. Another book we’re publishing, Jacqueline Horsfall’s For the Love Strangers, has a strong theme of caring for the world around us. Jacqueline is also the author of Play Lightly on the Earth.

In addition to promoting the replanting of trees, Leap Books uses recycled products in our offices. Promotions and press releases are done via the Internet as often as possible. We do small print runs to prevent remaindering, provide free “Exclusive” reads on our website rather than printing them, offer pdfs of our book group discussion guides and curriculum materials, publish our catalog online, give reviewers the option of reading ARCs as e-books, and have begun offering some of our titles as e-books.

What's your advice to readers that would like to make their book purchasing more sustainable?
Try to purchase books from publishers that use eco-friendly paper, are committed to recycling, and support environmental programs. Consider donating to companies that are replanting trees or saving rain forests. Also, if you can, think about purchasing e-books to save paper.

Thank you Leap Books 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!

The green agenda of the Green Books Campaign's publishers - part 6: HOPS Press

less than 48 hours have left to the Green Books Campaign 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 today is HOPS Press.

HOPS Press, LLC publishes six books and six videos by author, builder, wilderness survival instructor, and conservationist, Thomas J. Elpel, providing practical hands-on skills to restore our connection with nature.

Two of Elpel’s books are included in thee campaign. Participating in Nature (to be reviewed on raganella) is a book of wilderness survival skills, enabling the reader to discover nature through the process of using it to meet the basic needs for shelter, fire, water, and food. Living Homes (to be reviewed on Beth's Book Reviews) provides nuts-and-bolts construction advice for building high-efficiency homes on a shoestring budget. Both books are printed on 100% recycled paper.

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?
With my background as a wilderness survival instructor, I am accustomed to getting by with scarce resources. In wilderness survival, one simply cannot afford the luxury of waste. I’ve applied that survival mentality to life at home and work as well, building high quality houses out of scavenged materials, paying cash to avoid paying interest on a mortgage, and installing solar panels to zero-out our electric bill.

I am shocked every time I drive by the community dumpster and see all the valuable resources that have been discarded. As a country, we are burying our wealth in landfills, and it is not remotely sustainable. Most of my books are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper to help close the loop on waste. It is pretty exciting to hold a new product that was made without harvesting new resources.

What is your policy on using eco-friendly paper?
I ask our printer for 100% post-consumer recycled paper stock, if available. If 100% post-consumer recycled paper is not available, I’ll take the best we can get for the job.

Are there other ways you're going green?
I wear many different hats over the course of a year, and one of my favorite activities is teaching wilderness survival skills to public school kids. I take the local junior high kids out camping for three days and two nights every year, teaching them skill such as: how to start fires by rubbing sticks together, how to make their own plates, bowls, and utensils, how to cook a stir-fry dinner with hot rocks in a bark pan, how to stay warm and dry without a sleeping bag or a tent, and so forth, as documented in my newest video, Classroom in the Woods: Primitive Skills for Public Schools.

What's your advice to readers that would like to make their book purchasing more sustainable?
Support publishers that print on 100% recycled paper. Enjoy a good read, then pass the book along to a friend or library to get the most use out of it.

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

The 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!

Green Books Campaign: Green Press Initiative presents the progress made so far in the book industry

Some people asked me about the importance of the Green Books Campaign in the era of e-books. Well, for us it's very simple: Although there’s so much hype around e-books, books printed on paper still dominate the book market, and we want them to be as environmentally sound as possible.

Their share is still relatively small, but you can find a growing number of books printed responsibly and we hope this initiative will bring more exposure to such books. Through this campaign we want to encourage publishers to increase their green printing options and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

One of the important forces behind the progress made so far in the book industry and the growing number of books that are printed in an eco-friendly manner is Green Press Initiative (GPI).

GPI is supporting the Green Books Campaign and we asked our friends at GPI to tell us about their work with the book industry and the progress the industry has made in the last decade. Their website is also a great resource to learn more about the environmental impacts of the book industry and the solutions and we included some links you are welcome to look at below.

Green Press Initiative (GPI) is a non-profit program committed to reducing the environmental impacts of the book industry. For nearly 10 years, GPI has worked collaboratively with book publishers and their suppliers to reduce pressure on endangered forests, protect forest dependent communities and minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

As a result of the efforts by Green Press Initiative and leaders in the book industry, there has been significant progress as is outlined below:

- Approximately 50% of publishers (by market share) have environmental policies in place

- Nearly 230 publishers have endorsed the Book Industry Treatise on Environmentally Responsible Publishing or developed a policy with similar goals

The Book Industry Environmental Council has established an industry-wide goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below 2006 levels by 2020 with a long term target of an 80% reduction by 2050.

- Post-consumer recycled fiber in book papers has increased from 2.4% in 2004 to 13.3 percent in 2007.

- Many publishers have been able to significantly increase their use of recycled fiber or FSC certified paper without significant cost premiums.

- Nearly 50 new paper grades with strong environmental attributes have been developed in response to the demand from publishers with environmental policies.

GPI has played a leading role in helping to educate book industry stakeholders about the social and environmental impacts of the book industry as well the solutions that can help reduce these impacts. Towards this end, GPI has worked with publishers, book printers and paper manufacturers to increase the use of recycled fiber and paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council which guarantees that it is sourced from well managed forests.

Green Press Initiative has worked with nearly 230 publisher to develop environmental policies or endorse The Book Industry Treatise on Environmentally Responsible Publishing, which outlines environmental goals for the book industry. This treatise has also been endorsed by six paper manufacturers and nearly 30 printers.

In another efforts to catalyze progress in the book industry, GPI founded and now coordinates the Book Industry Environmental Council (BIEC). The BIEC consists of many of the largest book publishers, book printers and paper suppliers as well as a number of nonprofit organizations that have a focus on the book industry.

The BIEC provides a multi-stakeholder forum to discuss and implement plans to track and reduce the environmental impacts of the book industry, including setting an industry wide greenhouse gas reduction target, developing a plan to reduce the number of books that are landfilled, and developing a system to annually track key environmental metrics of the industry.

To learn more about Green Press Initiative or solutions to reduce the social and environmental impacts of the book industry please visit www.greenpressinitiative.org

We want to thank again GPI for their support of the campaign and assistance in getting the word out!

More links on their website:

The impacts of the book industry:

1. On endangered forests

2. On climate change

3. On people

Solutions - Responsible paper

The Book Industry Treatise on Environmentally Responsible Publishing

Book Publishers toolkit for responsible paper use

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!

Green Business Blog Carnival #22

Welcome to week #22 of the Green Business Blog Carnival, a weekly green assembly that highlights the news, opinion, and insight on green business published during the past week.

We're very happy to host the carnival this week and thank all our green biz colleagues who arrived to celebrate with us another week of green biz progress. Even in a week that seems not so good in general to green biz fox, it's great to see the movement going on in full force!

Is nuclear green? We'll definitely be hearing more about it after the results of the mid-term elections and the expected backing away from the cap and trade program. Jennifer Varnedoe and Liz McAndrew-Benavides, two leading young members involved in nuclear energy, already started the discussion on ANS Nuclear Cafe, while presenting how the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently designated jobs in nuclear energy as "green jobs." According to the writers, Nuclear energy qualifies due to its reduction of pollution and greenhouse gases when generating electricity.

Speaking of alternative energy and jobs creation, Calfinder reports on Sustainablog about Gila Bend, a small town in Arizona, which suffered from an economic downturn when an Air Force auxiliary field caused the land and nearby reservoir to fall victim to toxic pesticides. Now it looks like a massive solar power development there might be able to reverse this economic downturn and get Gila Bend back on the track.

And how about solar gadgets? Calfinder explains that taking simple steps in your everyday life is the best way to work toward sustainability. With so much time each week at work, why not start there with these solar gadgets? How about wireless solar-powered keyboard for example? This is so cool (or maybe hot is more appropriate here..)!

For those who want to move toward sustainability also in their wardrobe, there's a new initiative offering them to consider giving new life for unworn t-shirts. SAVED initiative, as SUNfiltered reports, takes donated used shirts, adds some embroidery and other fun items, and then sells them. This is part of the Green Thing’s efforts to get users to participate in “the art of wasting nothing and using up everything.” Sounds like an offer you can't refuse!

Triple Pundit is providing a great service for those of you, who like me, didn't make it to Net Impact 2010 lat week at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. They feature on their website a full spectrum of coverage, including video interviews and in depth. Don't miss it!

Here, on Eco-Libris blog, we're getting ready to the Green Books Campaign that will take place next week with 200 bloggers will take a stand to support books printed on environmental paper by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 such books on November 10, 2010, at 1:00 PM EST. In the meantime, we present the green agenda of some of the participating publisher such as Scholastic and McArthur & Co.

And finally, if you like to eat chips and you were following the story behind the compostable but noisy bags of SunChips that Frito-Lay decided to take off the market, then there's an interesting twist to the story coming from Canada. Tom Laskawy reports on Grist that Frito-Lay Canada has a different approach to this issue. What is it? Check this video:



We hope you enjoyed this week's carnival and we invite you to visit the green business blog carnival next week at Green Building Elements.

Also, if you want to host the carnival on your blog check out the opportunities at Sustainablog and to submit posts visit Triple Pundit for the submission form.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting green reading!

The green agenda of the Green Books Campaign's publishers - part 5: Five Mile Press

6 days are left to the Green Books Campaign 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 today is Five Mile Press.

The Five Mile Press is an Australian publisher specialising in children’s books, adult non-fiction, Australiana and stationery lines. Founded in 1991, the company quickly became known for its high quality, innovative product and has been building on that reputation ever since. The Five Mile Press is one of the strongest children’s mass-market publishers in Australia. Today, The Five Mile Press publishes in excess of 200 new books each year and sells to countries all around the world.

Many of their popular children’s books, including those by leading artists such as Shirley Barber, Trace Moroney and Robyn Johnson are published in many foreign languages as well as English language editions. We currently publish books in over 27 foreign languages supplied to over 30 different language markets. In addition to this, when world rights to a title are licensed for a particular language, another 20 or so countries are added to our distribution list.

Five Mile Press is participating in the campaign with the following books (all printed on recycled paper):

1. Ranger in Danger: Diablo's Doom by Sean Willmore and Alison Reynolds will be reviewed on 4 the LOVE of BOOKS.

2. Ranger in Danger: Erik's Enigma by Sean Willmore and Alison Reynolds will be reviewed on LitLad.

3. Ranger in Danger: Hernando's Labyrinth by Sean Willmore and Alison Reynolds will be reviewed on BabyMac.

4. Ranger in Danger: King Cobra's Curse by Sean Willmore and Alison Reynolds will be reviewed on Jennifer Howard's blog.

5. Ranger in Danger: Rapscallion's Revenge by Sean Willmore and Alison Reynolds will be reviewed on Reading Upside Down.

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?
Like everyone around the world, we are trying to do our best to conserve our resources and in the publishing industry we are very conscious of the large amount of paper we use. If we use eco-friendly paper, then we are at least doing our best to conserve the forests and ecosystems around the world for the future generations.

What is your policy on using eco-friendly paper?
All the paper we use comes from sustainable forests. We decided to print the Ranger in Danger series on recycled paper with the McPhersons Printing Group in Australia because they are ISO 9001 Environmental accredited, and they also have a number of environmental initiatives that support the printing of their books.

The decision to print on recycled paper came at the request of one of the authors, Sean Willmore, who is the director of the conservation organization The Thin Green Line. The Thin Green Line Foundation’s mission is to share the stories of park rangers from around the world and in doing so support conservations projects, and the families of rangers killed, whilst protecting wildlife in their selfless fight for conservation globally. Sean felt very strongly that recycled paper was the way to go for this series, and we agreed.

Are there other ways you're going green? We all try in our various ways. We car pool, we recycle, we turn off lights and use natural light whenever we can, and we limit our water use within the office. We have a large water tank that supplies water for our toilets and gardens. Our production department is always looking for ways to make our company more green.

What's your advice to readers that would like to make their book purchasing more sustainable?
Look out for the FSC, recycled logo or sustainable information on the cover or imprint of the book so you can sure that all the paper has been sourced from environmentally friendly organizations. Look for quality when you are buying books – this usually means the publisher cares about their products, and therefore about the environment. At The Five Mile Press we are very aware of quality and publish to the highest and most environmentally friendly production standards.

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

The 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!

The Birth Machine by Elizabeth Baines, who is collaborating with Eco-Libris, is out now!

Last April we wrote here on a new collaboration with author Elizabeth Baines on her novel "The Birth Machine". This is Elizabeth Baines' first novel, which is reissued by Salt Publishing. And today is the day! Salt's brand-new edition of The Birth Machine is now officially out.

One tree will be planted with Eco-Libris for every printed copy of "The Birth Machine". This is the second book of Elizabeth Baines we're greening up. The first one is "Too Many Magpies", which was described as 'Moving and compelling' by Sarah Salway. One tree is planted for each printed copy of this novel as well.

Here are some more details on the launch of "The Birth Machine" from an update we received from the author:

The London launch takes place next week and all are very welcome. (Details below). The new edition restores my original structure (changed by the Women's Press for the first edition) and at the launch I'll talk a little about the implications of the differences between the editions. Mostly, though, it will be a celebration: one is very lucky to have a reissue at all, leave alone in these difficult times, and I'm more than grateful to Salt.

Do come and help me celebrate if you're free - I would love to see you there!

Wednesday 10th November 2010, 6.30 pm
Blackwell’s, 100 Charing Cross Rd
LONDON WC2H 0JG 020 7292 5100
Free. Wine and nibbles.
Underground: Tottenham Court Road

By the way, on the same day itself (Nov 10), Elizabeth Baines will participate in the Green Books Campaign reviewing "The Mistress of Nothing" by Kate Pullinger, so if you're not in London for the launch party, you can still check Elizabeth Baines' blog, read the review and take part in the campaign!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

The green agenda of the Green Books Campaign's publishers - part 4: McArthur and Co.

One week to the Green Books Campaign 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 today is McArthur & Co..

McArthur & Company is a Canadian-owned and operated publisher and distributor of quality Canadian and international fiction and non-fiction for adults and children, based in Toronto. Founded in 1998, the company has had 70 bestsellers, 25 of them #1 bestsellers. Our authors have been shortlisted for 21 Canadian awards and have won 7 of them, including the Governor General's Award for Fiction in 2009 for Kate Pullinger's The Mistress of Nothing.

McArthur and Co. is participating in the campaign with the following books (all printed on FSC-certified paper):

1. The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger will be reviewed on Elizabeth Baines

2. Sounding Line by Anne DeGrace will be reviewed at CHOCOLATE REALITY

3. The Find by Kathy Page will be reviewed on she reads and reads

4. Beauty: Pure + Simple by Kristen Ma will be reviewed on Aisle B

5. Worldshift 2012: Making Green Business, New Politics, and Higher Consciousness Work Together by Dr. Ervin Laszlo will be reviewed on The Ontario Ecotourism Society.

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?
As a Canadian publisher, it's very important for us to protect Canada's forest resources. By selecting paper that's been certified by FSC, we are reducing the negative effect our industry has on ancient forests, and ensuring that our paper comes from responsibly managed forests and recycled sources.

What is your policy on using eco-friendly paper?
McArthur & Company strives to print as many of our books as possible on eco-friendly paper. We always consider eco-friendly paper for any book we print.

Are there other ways you're going green?
We try to reduce the amount of paper we print in our office, whether it's emails or manuscripts. Many of us have ereaders that allow us to read manuscripts. Our editorial team is moving toward more on-screen editing and proofreading. This significantly reduces the number of times a book is printed throughout the production process.

What's your advice to readers that would like to make their book purchasing more sustainable?
In-store, look for an FSC logo on the book or for a statement about the publishers' paper policy, usually found on the back cover of a book or on the copyright page. Online, chapters.indigo.ca displays an FSC logo for books that have been certified.

Thank you McArthur & Co. for your work and your participation in the Green Books Campaign!

The 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!