Report Shows Continued Environmental Improvement in U.S. Book Industry

A new report by the Book Industry Environmental Council (BIEC) and Green Press Initiative indicates that the U.S. book industry has continued to make progress towards reducing the environmental impacts of books including impacts on forests and climate change. Among the most notable findings was that paper producers who supply book papers reported using an average of 24% recycled fiber, almost a fivefold increase from 2004 when they were believed to be using around 5% recycled fiber.
The report, which is available online at www.bookcouncil.org and www.greenpressinitiative.org is based on surveys issued to U.S. publishers as well as the printers and paper manufacturers in North America who supply them. Surveys of paper manufacturers also indicate that about 16% of book papers produced are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and an additional 40% of book papers are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).