March 2008 MIPA Meeting: It's Easy Bein' Green

By Sheyna Galyan, Yaldah Publishing

The March MIPA meeting focused on green publishing and ways we can turn an otherwise tree-hostile industry into one that can help save the planet.

“Green is the topic of the day. Green is gold. It is the new black,” said Kristin, one of the stars of Blueprint for Green, a weekly television show following her and her husband as they build an upscale, contemporary, green home.

Right now books about green technology are all the rage, from new building to remodeling using sustainable materials and methods. More than a topic for books that sell, going green is something publishers can do with just a little effort.

Want to go green? Try these ideas:

• Recycle ink cartridges
• Recycle paper and cardboard
• Print only what you'll sell (books)
• Use email over snail mail letters
• Use PDF instead of hard copies
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient ones
• Turn computer monitor/lights off at night; use power strips for appliances and equipment that are “instant on”
• Plant trees
• Work from home (use less gas, decrease oil consumption)

Green businesses are also showing up to help publishers. The Green Press Initiative (http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/) aims “to help those in the book and newspaper industries better understand their impacts on endangered forests, indigenous communities, and the Earth's climate.”

An estimated 20-30 million trees are cut down annually for book production. With the help of the GPI, “Over 160 publishers, representing about 40% of the book industry’s market share, have either developed strong environmental policies or signed the industry-generated treatise on responsible paper use. The treatise has also been endorsed by more than a dozen book printers and paper mills.”

You can let your readers know that you’re going green, too, and Eco-Libris is happy to help. Their program (http://www.ecolibris.net/) allows you to plant a tree for every book you print (you pay $1 per tree; they take care of the tree-planting). In addition, you get a book cover sticker for each paid tree, announcing “One tree planted for this book.”

By using paper or a printer certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (http://www.fscus.org/), you can apply to use the FSC logo on your printed products without having to pay by the book.

If all this talk about going green has you seeing red, you can blame Harry Potter. “[J.K.] Rowling is credited with encouraging 16 of her publishers to print her books on environmental papers, spawning a trend that has seen an additional 300 publishers, including HarperCollins UK and Random House US, adopt green paper policies.” (Source: Markets Initiative)

For more on green publishing, please visit:http://www.pma-online.org/articles/shownews.aspx?id=2586