With climate change touching all corners of society and occupying international agendas, the publishing industry has an obligation to examine and minimise its environmental impact – and likewise, an interest in thinking about future markets and consumer expectations. 

As the industry body for Australian publishers, the APA iscommitted through our constitution to ‘encouraging best practice throughout the publishing supply chain incorporating environmental sustainability frameworks.’ 

Over the past twenty years, climate change policy has become something of a political football in Australia. Successive governments have by turns approved and reversed a variety of measures including a carbon tax and emissions trading schemes. The failure to achieve consensus has led to great stagnation on climate change action. Research has indicated that if all countries were to follow Australia’s approach, global warming could reach over 3°C and up to 4°C by the year 2100.

The Australian Government, like many other western nations, has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 26–28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

In order to match national and global net zero goals, the publishing industry must act collectively to develop sustainable models of publishing, and globally has shown increasing levels of collaboration. 

In November 2020, several key players signed onto a compact made between the International Publishers Association (IPA) and the United Nations affirming the sector’s commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

In September 2021, representatives of the book sector issued a joint statement ahead of COP26 reiterating its commitment to climate action. 

Multilateral agreements such as the Green Book Alliance and the Book Chain Project have also brought publishers (and key partners) together to share knowledge and tactics for sustainable best practices. There is every opportunity for the sector to share knowledge and ideas to become a global leader in sustainability.

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In order to ensure that sustainability goals are met, it will be essentiall for publishers to both track the environmental impact of their activities and measure the success of their initiatives. 

Given that the majority of emissions and waste will be incurred through third-party activities, this tracking requires communication and collaboration between publishers and their partners.

It is important that publishers take a realistic view of their environmental impact by considering all indirect practices related to a book’s publication – this might include the carbon footprint of editors flying to book fairs and conferences, and authors to readings and festivals. A comprehensive view of environmental impact for the publishing industry should also take into account water use and any chemical pollutants generated in the production of books.

When mapping the environmental impact of publishing, we must take into account:

  1. The materials used to produce books, package and ship them – alongside the landfill, prescribed waste, plastic and paper recycling remaining
  2. Gas and electricity usage
  3. Carbon emissions from transport and shipping, on sales and returns
  4. Office emissions, waste and travel

Calculating carbon footprint

Calculating carbon is not straightforward, but a number of tools are now available to assist publishers in this task: 

  • AI-powered data software that allows companies to automatically track their emissions
  • Econscia - Automated sustainability reporting tools
  • DIMPACT – a collaborative project that helps participants from the digital media and publishing industries to map and manage their digital carbon footprints.

Certification

German Climate Neutral Publisher badge
One example of a climate neutral certification for publishing is this label launched by the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, which represents ‘climate neutral production and transparency in climate communication’. This kind of model might be expanded and applied to the industry, national or internationally.

General climate neutral certifications (for example, via ClimatePartner) are becoming more commonplace for a variety of products, as is reporting in line with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure. 

With the exception of paper, there is a broad lack of standardised certifications for sustainable publishing – and this should be a focus of future collaborative talks. 

Comprehensive green publishing certifications would ideally take into account greenhouse gas emissions across all steps of the supply chain.

How to track sustainability strategy

Some existing frameworks for managing and overseeing sustainability are:

  • Sustainability management frameworks such as the ISO 14.001 standard and Science-Based Targets
  • The GHG Protocol, which is the most widely used standard for greenhouse gas accounting
  • Benefit Corporation (B Corps): a third-party validation system which includes the environment as one of five core areas that businesses are evaluated on in order to become certified

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This content was last updated on 8/27/2024, with the content reviewed quarterly. Please contact us if you have any recommended updates.