Book Industry
Environmental Council
(BIEC)
By:
Bill Upton, Malloy, Inc
Gary Jones, Printing Industries of America
Origin & Mission
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Founded June 2008 by Green Press Initiative (GPI)
Coordinated by GPI and Book Industry Study
Group (BISG)
Mission: Follow through on opportunities for
environmental improvements identified in the
March 2008 report:
 Environmental
Trends and Climate Impacts, Findings
from the U.S. Book Industry
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Published jointly by BISG and GPI
BIEC Membership
BMI Members
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AbitibiBowater
Edwards Brothers
Glatfelter
International Paper
Lindenmeyr
Malloy
Maple-Vail
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Midland Paper
NewPage
RR Donnelley
Sheridan Books
Thomson-Shore
Webcom
Xerox
BIEC Membership
Other Book Manufacturers
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Bethany Press
McNaughton & Gunn
Pinnacle Press
BIEC Membership
Publishers
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Baker Publishing
Group
Chelsea Green
Chronicle Books
Continuum Int’l
Hachette
HarperCollins
Hyperion
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McGraw-Hill
Northern Illinois Univ.
Press
Pearson
Random House
Rodale
Scholastic
Simon & Schuster
Sterling Publishing
BIEC Membership
Other Groups & Individuals
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Andrew Van Der Laan
Am. Assoc. of
University Presses
Am. Library Assoc.
Am. Booksellers
Assoc.
Anderson
Merchandisers
Book Industry Study
Group
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Bookbuilders West
Borders
Canopy
Cascades
Eco Libris
Green Press Initiative
Melcher Media
New Leaf Paper
Sam’s Club
4 Major Initiatives
1.
Establish Climate Goals
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2.
Track Industry Progress on Environmental Goals
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3.
Annually survey all segments of industry supply chain
Obtain responses from 75% market share for each segment
Publisher Certification & Eco-labeling
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4.
20% industry reduction in CO2 emissions 2006 to 2020
80% industry reduction in CO2 emissions 2006 to 2050
Certify environmental practices of publishers
Certified publishers can print eco-label in all their books
Certification based on point system and documented avoidance
of use of fiber coming from endangered forests
Reduce Returns & Keep Books Out of Landfills
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Just getting underway
Eco-Labeling
Project
BIEC Eco Label
 Awards
certification to publishers for use on
product
 Certification
based on scorecard and
endangered forest requirements
 Three
tiers of certification
 Documentation
will be required to prove
publisher claims
Scorecard
 22
metrics divided into 5 broad categories
3 Levels of Eco-Label Certification
Points
Required
Certification
(out of 1,000)
Level
Upper
400
Middle
500
Lower
600
% Fiber Proven as
Non-Endangered
Forest*
95%
85%
80%
*One proposed amendment would require 100% of fiber be proven as comin
from non-endangered forests for all certification levels. A small allowance
(up to 5%) could be granted for specific circumstances, such as when
verification is not possible.
What Qualifies for EF Requirement
 Recycled
Fiber (pre or post-consumer)
 Agricultural
residue or on-purpose crop fiber
(kenaf, bagasse, hemp, cotton, etc.)
 FSC
certified papers
 Fiber
that meets the controlled wood standard
 Paper
with CoC documentation showing it is not
sourced from a region with endangered forests
Content of Book Paper
I. Content of Book Paper
Possible Points
(% of total)
a. Postconsumer Content
225 (22.5%)
b. 3rd Party Certification
175 (17.5%)
c. Preconsumer Content
50 (5.0%)
d. Papers Made With Renewable
Energy
e. Use of Agricultural Residue or
Alternative Fiber
Total
25 (2.5%)
25 (2.5%)
500 (50%)
Reducing Paper Waste
II. Reducing Paper Waste
Possible Points
(% of total)
a. Scrapped/Discarded Books
85 (8.5%)
b. Reducing Returns
75 (7.5%)
c. Basis Weight Reduction
60 (6.0%)
d. Use of Office Paper
Total
10 (1%)
230 (23%)
Minimizing Climate Impacts
III. Minimizing Climate Impacts
Possible Points
(% of total)
a. Transportation
53 (5.3%)
b. Heating and Cooling
45 (4.5%)
c. Renewable Energy
25 (2.5%)
d. Efficient Lighting
20 (2.0%)
e. Carbon Offsets
7 (0.7%)
Total
150 (15%)
Toxics and Pollution Prevention
IV. Toxics and Pollution Prevention
Possible Points
(% of total)
a. Bleaching Process
40 (4.0%)
b. Volatile Organic Compounds
30 (3.0%)
Total
70 (7%)
Corporate Policies and Goals
V. Corporate Policies and Goals
a. Goals for Recycled Content
Possible Points
(% of total)
18 (1.8%)
b. Goals for Certified Fiber
13 (1.3%)
c. Goals for Reducing Climate Impacts
10 (1.0%)
d. Preference for ECF/PCF/TCF
Bleaching
e. Preference for Low VOC Inks
3 (0.3%)
f. Transparency of Policy
3 (0.3%)
Total
50 (5%)
3 (0.3%)
Verification
 Publishers
will be required to submit
documentation verifying claims including
Letters from suppliers
 3rd party certification
 Receipt/invoices
 Internal documentation
 Signed statements for some lower value items
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 GPI
approved to be initial certifier
 A portion of certifications will be audited by 4th
party to ensure integrity
BMI/PIA Comments
Point Assignment Approach
 No
clear basis for weighting each aspect
 Use
of PCW fiber is worth up to 230 points vs
preventing pollution and the use of toxics only worth up
to 70 points
 Unclear
why FSC certification worth almost twice
as many points as SFI, CSA, or PEFC certification
 No reasoning for the distribution of points for
various types of renewable energy used by mills
 What is the basis for alternative fiber point value
 No
definition of alternative fiber
BMI/PIA Comments
Point System Approach
 The point system may be counterproductive
 Three
levels may cause confusion for consumers
 No incentive for publishers to move up Tiers
 Publishers
may be discriminated against for only
achieving the lower levels of certification
 Publishers may drop down a tier through no fault
of their own
 For
example, a supplier going out of business or
discontinuing the manufacture of a particular product
BMI/PIA Comments
Recycled Fiber Content
 Scorecard does not recognize limitations exist in
use of recycled fiber for various types of sheets
and applications
 Scorecard
should be modified to reflect limitations
 High
levels of recycled content in coated papers
cause weakness and unsmooth surfaces
 High point levels for recycled content may be
unachievable in certain publishing markets
 El-Hi
market MSST requires specific strength levels
BMI/PIA Comments
Recycled Fiber Content
 Difficult to achieve high bulk and low basis
weight with high levels of recycled content
 Difficult to achieve high levels of recycled
content for sheeted paper than roll paper
 Digital printing devices are limited in the
sheets they can run
 Some
require special surface treatments not
compatible with the use of recycled fiber
BMI/PIA Comments
Recycled Fiber Content
 High levels of recycled content can cause
insufficient paper strength for withstanding binding
processes that require puncturing the paper
 Smyth
sewing and saddle stitching
BMI/PIA Comments
Climate Impact
 Scorecard awards 25 points if 80% of a
publisher’s books are printed within 100 miles of
its book distribution center.
 It is not logical to single out this leg of the book
distribution process over all others.
 We recommend awarding points for printing in
North America and avoiding trans-oceanic
shipments.
BMI/PIA Comments
Toxics and Pollution Prevention
 Scorecard awards up to 40 points for the use of
TCF, PCF, or EECF bleaching.
 Insufficient
capacity at North American mills using
these bleaching processes to serve this industry.
 Unclear
as to why is ECF bleaching not included
as an acceptable process
 ECF
has reduced releases of dioxins to nondetectable levels.
BMI/PIA Comments
Toxics and Pollution Prevention
 Scorecard awards up to 30 points for the use of
inks containing less than 5% VOC content.
 Only
dry toners and vegetable based CMYK inks for
sheetfed printing can currently achieve this level.
 Inks for other printing processes (e.g. nonheatset or
heatset web, ink jet, flexo) and spot color inks can not
achieve a VOC level of 5% or less.
 VOC
content is not the same as VOC emissions.
Status of EcoLabeling Project
BIEC Response to Comments
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October 20, 201 full meeting of BEIC
11 amendments on eco-labeling program were up for vote
Question raised: “Do we want to proceed with this
structure?”
Concerns mentioned:
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Are we creating “logo confusion”?
 BIEC, FSC, SFI, recycled, recyclable, etc.
 Will consumers understand it is the publisher, not the book,
that is certified?
Will publishers view the criteria as too complex and burdensome
to apply for certification?
Compliance with FTC guidelines
 Published a draft of its revised “Green Guide” on 10/6/10 with
public comment period ending 12/10/10.
 Will BIEC’s program conform to the new guidelines?
BIEC Response to Comments
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Ambiguous result of vote on proceeding
 More
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than half of members abstained
Since certification is for publishers, should this question
be decided by just the publishers?
More members voted in favor than against
Publishers were evenly split, for and against
Decision
 Table
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the project for now, while:
BIEC executive committee gets input from publishers
not present at 10/20/10 meeting
Wait to see requirements coming from FTC on “green”
labeling