Note: A slightly different version of this article appeared in the August 9, 2007 edition of The Seybold Report. Subscriptions (including the first four issues free) are available at http://www.seyboldreports.com/.

As book seven of the Harry Potter phenomenon creates the usual cycle of cable news sound bites, a significant publishing trend is being highlighted. The mandate to use FSC-certified paper is impacting an increasing number of print publishers and their paper suppliers.

With book publishing coming under increasing profit pressure, more publishers are pushing paper mills to provide less-expensive stocks at quality levels that equal, or nearly equal, those they replace. The mills are struggling with some success to reduce basis weight (and paper cost) without a commensurate reduction in opacity and durability.

In the midst of this changing demand, a larger (and contradictory) force is moving the paper industry: the demand for “eco-friendly” papers. A large infrastructure is quickly surrounding this exploding change in attitude, mainly among paper and print buyers, and now encouraged both by suppliers (who can actually make more money supporting this trend), and a very broad range of governmental and non-governmental initiatives.

Harry Potter, ever the trend-setter, is setting new trends in paper demand as well. Harry’s U.S. publisher, Scholastic, reported that “for the release of its seventh and final Harry Potter book in the United States, Scholastic has purchased nearly 22 million pounds of paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – it’s the largest purchase of the paper to be used in a single book printing to date.

“For the initial printing of 12 million copies of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows… to be released by publisher and distributor Scholastic (in the U.S.) in July,… Scholastic has committed to making sure that 65 percent of the 16,700 tons of paper used is FSC-certified, which means the paper comes from forestlands managed in a socially and environmentally responsible way. All the paper used in the printing will contain at least 30 percent post-consumer waste fiber, which meets FSC standards.”

According to a report by Adam Dewitz in PrintCEO Blog “using Markets Initiative’s Ancient Forest Friendly paper, the English-language editions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will save 197,685 trees and 7.9 million kilograms of greenhouse gases.”

This trend actually began in Canada three Potters ago. Canadian Potter publisher Raincoast Books states on its Web site that the Canadian editions of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are printed on 100% ancient-forest free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper, as will the final book in the series.” This is rather more eco-friendly that Scholastic’s effort, but the U.S. trend is nonetheless positive (Scholastic prints at least ten times as many copies of Potter book than Raincoast).

How are Other Publishers Responding?

The book publishing associations in the U.S. and the U.K. are also beginning to get on the bandwagon. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has a Paper Issues Working Group which discusses issues pertaining to paper and the environment, while encouraging publishers to make independent decisions about paper purchasing (how American!). The Publishers Association in the U.K. offers an “Environmental Awareness Policy,” which provides extensive guidance on paper issues, as well as on inks and on recycling generally. Meanwhile the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) is also very active in this regard, according to the organization’s Web site. The MPA has established an Environment Task Force, which brings together magazine publishers, paper companies and printers to discuss individual issues and questions. At the same time it participates in the Paper Industry Advisory Council (PIAC). Among its consumer-oriented education efforts is the publication of the 2007 Environment Handbook “Your Source to Understanding Magazines and the Environment.”

Individual book publishers are undertaking an increasing number of tangible initiatives supporting programs to reduce their environmental footprint, and not only by purchasing FSC-certified paper. . At this summer’s Book Expo America, Tyson Miller, executive director of the Green Press Initiative (http://www.greenpressinitiative.org), said that 141 book publishers had thus far adopted responsible paper policies.

A prominent example of U.S. publisher support is found at HarperCollins U.S. Like its U.K. counterpart, all mills used by HarperCollins U.S. must have obtained certification of their forestry practices under a credible sustainable forest management system. According to Erin Crum, Director of Corporate Communications at HarperCollins, “HarperCollins recognizes the importance of minimizing the environmental impact of our daily business operations.” Beyond revised paper purchasing practices, the company “participates in two publishing industry groups that focus on the environmental impact of paper used in books, the BISG benchmarking committee, and the AAP Paper Issues Working Group.” Crum points out that HarperCollins efforts focus internally as well. “All employee business cards and letterhead are printed on 100% recycled materials,” she says, “and ongoing improvements to the supply-chain process have dramatically reduced unsold book inventory, significantly reducing waste.”

Random House has made similar public commitments, which will have long-term implications for the book publishing supply chain. “Meeting our current and long-term recycled fiber targets for our books has been and will continue to be a collaborative effort among our publishers, our in-house production and paper departments, and our mill and merchant partners,” said the company’s director of production planning, Andrew Van Der Laan. “This close cooperation has… allowed us to establish a sustainable eco-friendly recycled fiber program we hope will also be helpful for other potential participating publishers.”

The Paper Chase, FSC and Beyond

Publishers are not alone in preaching a sustainability message. Most, if not all, of the major U.S. paper companies offer papers with very high post-consumer waste fiber content. However, an increasing number of companies, including Domtar, Mohawk, Sappi and others, have made environmental sustainability their central message. Sappi, for example, maintains that all of its U.S. papers are available either FSC or SFI certified, or both.

While this article is more focused on publishers than on paper manufacturers, the case of Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. (www.mohawkpaper.com) inspires beyond the industry norms. Mohawk is the largest premium paper manufacturer in North America. The company recently announced that “Mohawk is one of the top 25 largest purchasers of wind-generated electricity among manufacturing companies in the U.S. On June 1, 2007, Mohawk Fine Papers increased its purchase of wind-generated electricity RECs (renewable energy credits) from 60,000,000 kWh to 100,000,000 kWh annually. This is 100% of the electric power required for all of Mohawk’s operations in its New York and Ohio facilities.” In addition, of course, Mohawk is certified to manufacture paper to Forest Stewardship Council standards (FSC).

Printers are Taking the Hint

On April 3, 2007, Montreal-based Transcontinental Printing’s Book Group announced a new paper made from 100% post-consumer recycled material, with this new offering made available at price parity with similar conventional stock, a move without precedent in the industry. Many of the larger book printers in North America have followed with similar announcements. (Quebecor, a printing company somewhat more diversified than Transcontinental, announced the following day that it would “urge the company’s 1.6 million [Videotron cable] customers to do something practical for the environment by switching to online billing.” This move, it reported, “could save up [to] tens of tonnes of paper. Moreover, for each Videotron customer who decides to subscribe to online billing, the Earth Day-Québec organization will plant a tree here, in Québec.”)

R.R. Donnelley, for its part, is taking an even broader approach to environmental improvement programs, embracing the tough International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001 certification at numerous plants, as well as Forest Stewardship Council certification at virtually all of its plants, including those in China. The list of plants involved is enormous (http://www.rrdonnelley.com/wwwRRD/AboutUs/EHS/ExternalCertifications.asp).

Enabling the Change

Similar to other initiatives across numerous industries, the paper industry has developed its own XML-based ecommerce standard, called papiNet (www.papinet.org). According to the group, “papiNet is the global initiative to proactively develop, maintain and support the implementation of common electronic transaction formats for use among all parties engaged in the buying, selling, and distribution of paper and forest products. These electronic formats for business transactions and information exchange are needed to support the progressive move by business today towards increased system-to-system real-time exchange of information between buyers and sellers…. Using XML and the Internet, the papiNet standard provides a digital dial tone that businesses can use to automate business information exchange…. The papiNet standard includes common terminology and standard business documents (e.g. purchase orders, shipping notices, and invoices) for use in both domestic and international electronic transactions. In addition, the global initiative seeks to enhance adoption of the papiNet standard through support tools and services.”

The great importance of papiNet in the move toward eco-friendly papers is that the standard already supports a range of definitions that make it easy for paper buyers to specify a broad range of attributes across the eco-friendly spectrum. The current specification includes data definitions such as CertificationBody, FibreSource, LumberSpecies, PostConsumerWaste, PreConsumerWaste, RecoveredPaperAttributes, RecycledCharacteristics and RecycledRequired. Just as importantly, like most of these types of XML-based specifications, adding and expanding definitions is extremely simple.

Conclusion

One event, even one as large as the publication of the final title in the Harry Potter series, does not necessarily define a trend. Yet the endless publicity attracted by this single event is certain to greatly increase awareness about the issues surrounding the environmental impact of paper usage, not only in book publishing, but across all paper-based publishing. The issue is not new. The Seybold Report covered the broad industry issues in Vol. 6, No 6. (“It’s Not Easy Being Green”). Momentum is increasing across the full spectrum of the graphic arts industries, from publishers to printers and increasingly, to paper suppliers, who can see that there’s renewed profit in recycled papers. At the same time everyone acknowledges that “green is the new black” for all participants in the publishing food chain.            TSR

Thad McIlroy is an electronic publishing consultant, analyst and author, based in San Francisco and Toronto. He may be reached at thad@thefutureofpublishing.com.

Groups Supporting Change

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Established in 1996, and headquartered in Bonn, Germany, the Forest Stewardship Council (www.fsc.org) is fast becoming one of the major drivers behind paper selection today.

Because of their high public profile (or that of their authors), book publishers are driving the move towards “eco-friendly” papers, and FSC certification is one of the best-recognized means to show the reading public strong support for this trend. The FSC’s agenda is very broad, including, for example, “Indigenous People’s Rights” and “Community Relations and Workers’ Rights.” Perhaps as a result, its demands on paper consumers are less onerous than other key initiatives for paper reuse and conservation. Nonetheless, the FSC is driving media and industry focus to paper usage, and that in itself is a potent force.

The Institute for Sustainable Communication (ISC)

The ISC (www.sustaincom.org) is a nonprofit organization “dedicated to developing leaders that can implement proven, practical and measurable policies at a corporation's operational level by implementing best practices for enterprise communication.”

Don Carli, who founded and operates the group, is associated with the catchy phrase “Is green ‘the new black’ for corporate America?” In a June 2007 interview on National Public Radio, and reported on PrintCEO Blog, Carli said “that sustainability has advanced from being a fringe idea on the margins of marketing to a stage where it is now recognized as the central focus of marketing communications and advertising.” Carli warns those who would “greenwash” false displays of environmental concern. “Savvy consumers,” he said, “won’t be fooled: We live in a world that is one mouse-click away from exposure.”

The ISC also worked with the influential American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) to produce a detailed report Responsible Enterprise Print at the American Institute of Graphic Arts (available from the ISC Web site. Altogether, ISC examined thirty-seven different print projects representing 540,000 individual printed pieces, including office-related printing, produced by and for AIGA from June 2004 through the end of May 2005. The result is a series of recommendations in keeping with the ISC mandate.

The Sustainable Advertising Partnership

A project of the ISC, the Sustainable Advertising Partnership (www.sustainableadvertisingpartnership.org) was founded “to establish an inclusive non-political coalition of advertisers and their supply chain and media partners, dedicated to raising awareness and fostering the widespread adoption of practices that address climate change and the challenges of sustainability.” Membership is available to advertisers, publishers, print, television, internet and other paid media outlets, ad agencies, production companies, printers, paper companies, news stand distributors, retailers, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders and supply chain partners.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)

“The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (www.sfiprogram.org) program is based on the premise that responsible environmental behavior and sound business decisions can co-exist.

“SFI program participants practice sustainable forestry on all the lands they manage. They also influence millions of additional acres through the training of loggers and foresters in best management practices and landowner outreach programs.

“This unique commitment to sustainable forestry recognizes that all forest landowners, not just SFI program participants, play a critical role in ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of our forests.

“The SFI program has a comprehensive labeling program that includes percent content labels for those who choose to use Chain of Custody (CoC). Certified retailers, printers, publishers, merchants and others are eligible for on-product label use and CoC certification. SFI CoC certification provides assurances to your customers that the products you are using come from legal and sustainable sources.”

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC Council)

“The PEFC Council (www.pefc.org) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certification. The PEFC provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that they are promoting the sustainable management of forests.

“PEFC’s aim is to assure that the world’s forests are managed sustainably and that their functions are protected for present and future generations. PEFC-certified timber and paper products are an independently verified assurance to consumers and companies that they are buying wood products from sustainably managed forests. By choosing PEFC, buyers can help combat illegal logging.

“PEFC’s role, as an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, is to secure that the same high standards are applied by all its endorsed certification systems globally and thus by forest managers, paper and timber companies and their external certifiers.”

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

The New York-based Environmental Defense Fund (www.environmentaldefense.org) looks far beyond paper in its activities: “Through our program areas, Environmental Defense brings together experts in science, law and economics to tackle complex environmental issues that affect our oceans, our air, our natural resources, the livability of our man-made environment, and the species with whom we share our world.”

At the same time, it does offer both the “Paper Supplier Evaluation Form” and the more viscerally powerful “Paper Calculator”: “Wondering what types of savings to the environment changing from virgin to recycled paper can have? Use our new and improved paper calculator to find out. Our updated web-based tool does all the math to show how your paper choices make a difference in resource use. You can keep it simple and compare recycled content and paper amounts, or go advanced and include information about pulp and bleaching processes. Check it out, switch to recycled, save a tree – and so much more.”

Copyright © 2007 RISI Inc. and Thad McIlroy.