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Sustainable Publishing

When you pick up a book, you’re touching more than pages — you’re interacting with an industry responsible for millions of tons of CO₂ annually. Publishing’s environmental impact spans paper production, manufacturing, and transportation, but the industry is reimagining its practices. Every choice, from paper sourcing to shipping, offers room for improvement. 

Is it possible for publishers, authors, and readers to reduce this footprint without losing what makes books meaningful?

Where the Industry Stands Today

The publishing sector has made progress, but challenges remain:

• The pulp and paper industry is a major global player, consuming 13–15% of the world’s wood and 33–40% of industrially traded timber. The U.S. ranks second in production and consumption, driving a significant forest impact. 
• Book publishing emits an estimated 12.4 million metric tons of CO₂ yearly, with unsold copies adding to landfill waste. 
• Water use is intensive at every stage of papermaking, from pulping wood to bleaching sheets. Producing just one sheet can require 10 liters.

These numbers call us to innovate. So, what possible solutions are there?

How to Make Books More Sustainable

The book industry can cut its environmental impact by focusing on five key areas. From using better materials to improving how books are shipped, here are practical steps that publishers, authors, and readers can take to reduce waste and emissions while keeping the joy of reading alive.

Rethink Paper and Print (Without Sacrificing Quality)

Paper production remains the industry’s largest emissions source, but abandoning physical books isn’t realistic or desirable. Instead, smarter material choices can make a tangible difference.

• Prioritize certified or recycled fibers: FSC-certified paper ensures responsible forest management, while post-consumer waste (PCW) reduces reliance on virgin pulp. 
• Test agricultural alternatives: Materials like hemp or flax require less water and pesticides than traditional wood pulp. Though still niche, trials by academic presses show these fibers can maintain print quality while cutting environmental costs.
• Optimize printing: Switching to soy-based inks lowers VOC emissions, and lighter paper stock reduces shipping weight.
• Print-on-demand (POD) technology also deserves wider adoption. By printing books only after purchase, publishers avoid overruns that lead to pulping 20-30% of stock — a win for both budgets and emissions.

Design Books That Last

Disposable paperbacks that yellow or crack within years fuel a cycle of re-purchasing. Investing in durability can extend a book’s lifespan:

• Reinforce high-use titles: Libraries often rebind heavily circulated books, a practice commercial publishers could adapt for classics or textbooks.
• Explore modular formats: Some indie publishers experiment with detachable chapters or updatable inserts, reducing the need for new editions.

Digital books aren’t a perfect fix. While they eliminate physical waste, their carbon cost shifts to energy-intensive servers and device manufacturing. 

Streamline Distribution (and Fix the Returns Problem)

The journey from printer to reader is riddled with waste. A U.S. bestseller might be printed in Asia, shipped to a warehouse, trucked to a store, then returned and destroyed if unsold.

• Regionalize printing: Local POD hubs minimize transportation. Canada’s Friesens prints domestically for North American clients, cutting trans-Pacific shipping.
• Reform returns policies: The industry’s “full return” model encourages overprinting. Transitioning to non-returnable terms — as academic presses do — could align inventory with actual demand.
• Support local retailers: Partnering with indie bookstores for pre-orders or regional releases helps publishers gauge print runs more accurately.

Educating retailers and consumers about the environmental toll of overstocking could drive demand for tighter, greener supply chains.

Engage Authors and Readers as Partners

Sustainability thrives on collaboration. Authors can negotiate eco-friendly terms into contracts, such as recycled materials or carbon offsets for book tours. 

Readers, too, have leverage. Buying used books, choosing digital for single reads, or borrowing from libraries reduces demand for new printings. Even small habits matter: selecting ground shipping over air freight cuts a book’s delivery emissions by 50-70%. Feeling overwhelmed? Start by supporting publishers that disclose their environmental efforts. Transparency often signals commitment.

Track Progress Through Data and Accountability

Improvement requires measurement. Publishers like Penguin Random House now audit emissions across their supply chains, actively monitoring carbon output from various sources, including paper mills and warehouses. These insights help target high-impact changes, whether adopting renewable energy in binderies or optimizing truckload efficiency.

Third-party certifications (B Corp, Climate Neutral) validate efforts, but smaller presses can take incremental steps: partnering with green printers, joining industry coalitions like the Sustainable Publishing Initiative, or using carbon calculators to benchmark progress.

Final Thoughts

Transforming publishing will not happen through grand gestures but through thousands of deliberate choices. Should a debut novel use lavish foil covers, knowing they limit recyclability? Can a publisher justify air-shipping a bestseller to meet holiday demand? There are no easy answers, but asking these questions is progress.

Books endure because they connect us — to ideas, to each other, to the past. By aligning their creation with environmental stewardship, the industry can ensure they also connect us to a viable future.