Lantern Books

In its June issue, Book Business covered the newly created Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper Use, a formal effort to change the book industry’s environmental impact. The treatise reflects the input of 25 industry stakeholders—publishers, printers, paper companies and merchants—and sets industry-wide goals for change. The primary goal: to increase the average use of recycled fiber from the industry’s current 5 percent to 30 percent within five years. So far, the treatise has been signed by 118 publishers, two paper mills and four printers, and supporters are making a significant push to enlist many others. Book Business asked those involved in the

The U.S. book publishing industry consumed approximately 1.1 million tons of book paper in the year 2000. That required cutting down an estimated 25 million trees. Figures for 2001, published in 2002 by the American Forest and Paper Association, report 914,000 tons of paper were used for U.S. book publishing. Trees required to meet demand: 19 million. Yet the average recycled content level (by fiber weight) across printing and writing grades is only 5%. The disparity between the ecological impact of publishing versus the meager levels of recovered materials in paper is driving responsible publishers to be part of the solution, instead of the problem. To date,

The drive for recycled paper in the book industry seems to be picking up speed. Twenty-five U.S. publishers have signed a letter of intent to begin phasing in post-consumer recycled paper over the next three to five years. Indeed, publishers throughout North America are beginning to take strong stands on recycled paper. Canadian firms, such as Broadview Press of Calgary, Alberta, are making similar commitments. The U.S. effort is spearheaded by the Green Press Initiative (GPI), a non-profit effort dedicated to preserving forests and natural resources. "We're trying to mobilize the book publishing sector," says Tyson Miller, program director for the

Author Anil K. Gupta said, "Strategy is the art and science of creating the future, managing the present and selectively forgetting the past." Many forget that little over a century ago, when paper was primarily made from recycled rags, arguments raged about whether paper made from wood pulp was fit for use as a printing substrate. Today over 3.5 million people are employed in the wood pulp, paper and paper converting industries worldwide. Book publishers are responsible for buying over 1 million tons of paper made from wood fiber each year. That's a small slice of the more than 100 million tons