Digital technology has permanently changed the publishing industry forcing traditional business models to completely re-adjust.
Some of these changes include the way content is purchased, a change in copyright rules, advertisement viewing and has created an altogether new reading experience. As the targeted consumer, we have begun to think about the environmental impact of this print to digital transition. Publishers are now coming up with new environmental friendly techniques to satisfy buyers. However these techniques differ from either showing the benefits on the environment from digital publishing or making the print publications more environmentally friendly.
I personally believe that digital publishing is the obvious environmentally friendly choice, however I hold no strong evidence to my reasoning.
Firstly, by looking at reading habits. The first thought as an advantage of digital publishing on the environment not needing paper is the most obvious, I believe. If an individual reads two printed papers a day and a subscripted magazine per month, switching to a digital version saves paper waste completely.
According to the ‘Book Industry Study Group’ The U.S. publishing industry uses more than 1.5 million metric tons of paper each year, and in 2006 figure estimated carbon emissions at 8.85 pounds of carbon dioxide per book. According to an Uberflip article on ‘The Environmental Implications of Digital Publishing’ released in 2013;
· For a typical 32-page newspaper with a print run of 70,000, going digital would save 3226 trees
· 134 tonnes of paper, 269 barrels of oil, 551,040 kW hours of electricity, and 13,873 kg of waste.
· Ecolibris states that each year, over 2 billion books, 350 million magazines, and 24 billion newspapers are published in the US — that’s about 68 million tons of paper and paperboard and30 million trees.
My personal reasons are; how many trees I could save by going digital, I would be reducing on paper consumption, and also saving energy on book production. Also I think about the packaging materials used when creating a book would be a waste as well as money used to dispose of those books.
Another way that digital publishing is helping the environment is how big name companies As a company Apple is helping to promote digital publishing being environmentally friendly, their Ipad2 has a lower carbon impact than an equivalent production of print books is 14 (sfgate.com, 2011). Another company doing well for the environment on digital technology is The amazon kindle, a research by Cleantech Group claims that if the owner of a kindle downloads around 22 books in a year, and extra years of use have a net carbon savings equivalent to an average of 168 kilograms of carbon dioxide (sfgate.com.2011).
On the other hand, it is important to take into account that due to the growing online social and economic needs of the society, electronic waste is now the fastest growing component of the municipal waste stream. The number of electronic products discarded globally has risen with 20-50 million tonnes generated every year. In Europe alone, e-waste is increasing at 3-5% a year, which is 3 times faster than the total waste stream. (twosides.info, 2014).
However, like the rise and success of most things digital these facts are of a percentage difference from zero, books have been around for a long time so a rise or fall from paper waste wouldn’t show a higher percentage than digital.
I believe digital products are so much more versatile books, even though I truly appreciate books for purely reading purposes. As for the implications on the environment, an electronic device can be used for a lifetime, and hold a large memory full of books as well as an allowance to surf the web. It is also possible to recycle these electronic devices, as it is possible to recycle paper. Print books are becoming an item of luxury as enhanced digital products are also creating their own reading experience. As big companies like Apple are attempting to make environmental friendly e-products, this may mean that other companies will follow. People like to purchase things that are environmentally friendly.
Word Count - 674
- pubsimple. (2012). I’m a Digitarian. Is that a good thing?. Available: http://pubsimple.wordpress.com/category/environmental-benefits-of-digital-publishing/. Last accessed 23.10.11.
- Nancy Davis Kho. (2011). E-readers or print books - which is greener?.Available: http://www.sfgate.com/green/article/E-readers-or-print-books-which-is-greener-2344252.php#ixzz1tGz8IHGO. Last accessed 23.11.14.
- epublishersweekly. (2009). Ebooks Save Millions of Trees: 10 Ideas For Sustainable Publishing. Available: http://epublishersweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/ebooks-save-millions-of-trees-10-ideas.html.
Last accessed 23.11.11.
- twosides.info. (2008). Electronic Communication Is More Environmentally Friendly Than Print And Paper. Available: http://www.twosides.info/Electronic-Communication-Is-More-Environmentally-Friendly-Than-Print-And-Paper. Last accessed 23.11.14.
Some of these changes include the way content is purchased, a change in copyright rules, advertisement viewing and has created an altogether new reading experience. As the targeted consumer, we have begun to think about the environmental impact of this print to digital transition. Publishers are now coming up with new environmental friendly techniques to satisfy buyers. However these techniques differ from either showing the benefits on the environment from digital publishing or making the print publications more environmentally friendly.
I personally believe that digital publishing is the obvious environmentally friendly choice, however I hold no strong evidence to my reasoning.
Firstly, by looking at reading habits. The first thought as an advantage of digital publishing on the environment not needing paper is the most obvious, I believe. If an individual reads two printed papers a day and a subscripted magazine per month, switching to a digital version saves paper waste completely.
According to the ‘Book Industry Study Group’ The U.S. publishing industry uses more than 1.5 million metric tons of paper each year, and in 2006 figure estimated carbon emissions at 8.85 pounds of carbon dioxide per book. According to an Uberflip article on ‘The Environmental Implications of Digital Publishing’ released in 2013;
· For a typical 32-page newspaper with a print run of 70,000, going digital would save 3226 trees
· 134 tonnes of paper, 269 barrels of oil, 551,040 kW hours of electricity, and 13,873 kg of waste.
· Ecolibris states that each year, over 2 billion books, 350 million magazines, and 24 billion newspapers are published in the US — that’s about 68 million tons of paper and paperboard and30 million trees.
My personal reasons are; how many trees I could save by going digital, I would be reducing on paper consumption, and also saving energy on book production. Also I think about the packaging materials used when creating a book would be a waste as well as money used to dispose of those books.
Another way that digital publishing is helping the environment is how big name companies As a company Apple is helping to promote digital publishing being environmentally friendly, their Ipad2 has a lower carbon impact than an equivalent production of print books is 14 (sfgate.com, 2011). Another company doing well for the environment on digital technology is The amazon kindle, a research by Cleantech Group claims that if the owner of a kindle downloads around 22 books in a year, and extra years of use have a net carbon savings equivalent to an average of 168 kilograms of carbon dioxide (sfgate.com.2011).
On the other hand, it is important to take into account that due to the growing online social and economic needs of the society, electronic waste is now the fastest growing component of the municipal waste stream. The number of electronic products discarded globally has risen with 20-50 million tonnes generated every year. In Europe alone, e-waste is increasing at 3-5% a year, which is 3 times faster than the total waste stream. (twosides.info, 2014).
However, like the rise and success of most things digital these facts are of a percentage difference from zero, books have been around for a long time so a rise or fall from paper waste wouldn’t show a higher percentage than digital.
I believe digital products are so much more versatile books, even though I truly appreciate books for purely reading purposes. As for the implications on the environment, an electronic device can be used for a lifetime, and hold a large memory full of books as well as an allowance to surf the web. It is also possible to recycle these electronic devices, as it is possible to recycle paper. Print books are becoming an item of luxury as enhanced digital products are also creating their own reading experience. As big companies like Apple are attempting to make environmental friendly e-products, this may mean that other companies will follow. People like to purchase things that are environmentally friendly.
Word Count - 674
- pubsimple. (2012). I’m a Digitarian. Is that a good thing?. Available: http://pubsimple.wordpress.com/category/environmental-benefits-of-digital-publishing/. Last accessed 23.10.11.
- Nancy Davis Kho. (2011). E-readers or print books - which is greener?.Available: http://www.sfgate.com/green/article/E-readers-or-print-books-which-is-greener-2344252.php#ixzz1tGz8IHGO. Last accessed 23.11.14.
- epublishersweekly. (2009). Ebooks Save Millions of Trees: 10 Ideas For Sustainable Publishing. Available: http://epublishersweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/ebooks-save-millions-of-trees-10-ideas.html.
Last accessed 23.11.11.
- twosides.info. (2008). Electronic Communication Is More Environmentally Friendly Than Print And Paper. Available: http://www.twosides.info/Electronic-Communication-Is-More-Environmentally-Friendly-Than-Print-And-Paper. Last accessed 23.11.14.