Environmental Leader

Climate change, sustainable packaging and reducing paper use were among the workshop topics the book industry’s recent annual trade show, BookExpo America, BusinessWeek reports.

Publishers are increasing their use of recycled paper, from 2.5 percent of paper used in 2004 to 13 percent in 2007, according to BusinessWeek. In addition, the industry is aiming for 30-percent use of recycled paper, which would result in a savings of a billion tons of GHG emissions, according to Tyson Miller of the nonprofit Green Press Initiative. The production of one book results in 8.85 pounds of carbon emissions, he said.

A recent report from Green press Initiative paints a picture of an industry in the midst of a positive environmental transformation.

Other steps publishers have taken include marketing e-books and e-book readers, and distributing their catalogs electronically.

Net Galley intends to use digital galleys to make the process of sending books to reviewers and retailers ahead of publication more environmentally friendly and cost effective.

For books printed and bound in the U.S., Simon & Schuster plans to increase the level of recycled fiber in its purchased paper to 25 percent or more by 2012, a 150 percent increase from a current 10 percent baseline level, the company recently announced.

Markets Initiative, an environmental group that worked with J.K. Rowling on the production of the last book in her Harry Potter series, said last year that 84 printers across North America now stock Ancient Forest Friendly or eco-friendly papers for the first time because of Harry Potter’s lead.