Sustainability Partnership: Canon's Prizewinning Initiative and Our Platform's Contribution

The publishing world is in a state of constant evolution, with sustainability rapidly climbing the priority list. A shining beacon of this shift is Canon's innovative partnership, spearheaded by Jörg Engelstädter, which recently bagged the coveted IPA Innovation Award for Publishing. This groundbreaking collaboration brought together industry titans, including our platform, to develop actionable solutions for reducing the carbon footprint of print-on-demand (POD) publishing and paving the way for a greener industry.

This piece follows the journey of this project, featuring contributions from our platform's CEO, Kinga Jentetics, and Head of Content Operations, Dóra Nagyné-Gebei. It sheds light on the significance of initiatives like Canon's Future Book Forum, the key players involved, and the long-lasting impact of this project.

What's the Planet's Biggest Book Party?

The Future Book Forum, an annual gathering organized by Canon and Jörg Engelstädter's brainchild, is a global bash that brings together leaders, publishers, and tech-savvy cats to talk shop about the future of publishing. It serves as a forum for discussing innovation, spotting trends, and tackling challenges in the industry.

The Forum thrives on collaboration and conversation, encouraging participants to swap ideas and strategies that have the potential to shape the industry. As of late, sustainability has taken center stage, making the Forum a fitting stage for game-changing initiatives, like the award-winning project.

For Kinga Jentetics, the Future Book Forum in Munich proved to be a life-changing experience. Not only did it acquaint her with the sustainability-focused project, but it also gave her a deeper understanding of the environmental challenges facing the publishing world. This newfound insight served as the spark that ignited our platform's involvement in the project.

The Collaborative Project's Key Players

Canon's sustainability project welcomed a lively mix of contributors from diverse corners of the publishing value chain. Whether it's tech, raw materials, or digital tools you're into, this dynamic group had you covered. Let's meet the movers and shakers:

Canon

As the project ringmaster, Canon brought its A-game in imaging and printing technology. With a strong dedication to sustainability, Canon used its resources to explore eco-friendly printing methods, efficient production techniques, and creative solutions for slashing waste in the POD industry.

our platform

Our platform, a heavyweight in digital publishing, contributed insights from its experience of publishing over 200,000 books that found homes in 180 countries. Our focus centered on providing data-driven strategies to streamline workflows, curb carbon emissions, and maintain high publishing standards while reducing our environmental footprint.

More Game-Changers

Elsevier: A top academic publisher that covers the scientific, technical, and medical fields. Elsevier's offerings include journals, books, and digital platforms such as Scopus and ScienceDirect to fuel research and innovation. The company is part of RELX Group and boasts a global presence, with a focus on spreading knowledge in the academic and professional sectors.
Hachette: A renowned international publishing juggernaut based in France. Known for churning out books across a variety of genres, including fiction, non-fiction, educational materials, and children's literature, it operates under numerous imprints and subsidiaries worldwide, including in the US and UK.
Une Books: A one-stop shop for comprehensive academic publishing services, providing hosting and distribution solutions for digital books for educational institutions and independent publishers.
LiberExpress: A platform designed for print-on-demand (POD) and distribution services, catering mainly to publishers and authors in need of flexible and quick book production.
Cloudprinter: A cloud-based POD service connecting global print networks with businesses, enabling on-demand printing and shipping of books, marketing materials, and other merchandise. It focuses on sustainability and cutting waste by producing items close to end-users.
Editeur: An organization that offers tools and standards to streamline the book and e-book publishing industry, enhancing discoverability and market efficiency.
Planeta: An influential Spanish-language publishing and media company with a portfolio of books, magazines, and educational services. Based in Spain, it enjoys considerable success across Europe and Latin America, particularly in literary and educational publishing.

A Workshop at the London Book Fair in 2023

Our platform's Role and Relay

Our platform is all about staying on the cutting-edge of innovation. Our participation in this project underscores our commitment to building a greener and more accessible future for the publishing world.

Queen Bee's Mission: Kinga Jentetics

Kinga's involvement began post her inspiring encounter at the Future Book Forum in Munich where she crossed paths with Jörg Engelstädter and other project collaborators. Recognizing the power in teamwork, she shared our platform's unique perspective gleaned from navigating a diverse global publishing landscape.

Using her time-tested entrepreneurial chops, Kinga highlighted strategies for streamlining production, cutting emissions, and employing data-driven decision-making.

Dóra's Operational Expertise

Dóra stepped onto the scene later, bringing her exhaustive knowledge of content operations and vendor management to the table. She contributed to key on-line dialogues and participated in crucial face-to-face meetings at major industry events such as the London Book Fair and Frankfurt Book Fair.

Dóra's focus was on optimizing the operational aspects of sustainability. Her expertise guaranteed that the project's recommendations could be integrated seamlessly into existing workflows and made accessible to publishers of all sizes.

Why Collaboration is the Cat's Meow

Togetherness is the heart of innovation, especially when tackling complex challenges like sustainability. Here's why partnerships like this make a difference:

Swotting the Right Solutions Diversity is the publishing industry's game. It encompasses printing, sourcing materials, developing digital tools, and more. Collaborative projects merge specialists of every niche, yielding comprehensive and practical solutions.
Driving Industry-Wide Change Nobody can solve sustainability issues alone. Working together, organizations can share resources, align goals, and drive the adoption of sustainable practices with greater effect.
Networking and Alliances Collaborative projects form valuable connections. For our platform, participating in the project was an opportunity to mingle with like-minded professionals, scope out potential partnerships, and gain fresh insights shaping our future endeavors.
Innovation and Resilience Projects like this push the creative boundaries, challenge the norms, and encourage the exploration of emerging technologies. The result isn't just a greener industry but also a more adaptable and resilient one.

Picture shows, from left to right: Arantxa Mellado - CEO of LiberExpress, Jörg Engelstädter - Founder, Thought Leader and Manager of The Future Book Forum at Canon EMEA, Dóra Nagyné-Gebei - Head of Content Operations at PublshDrive

The White Paper: A Roadmap to a Greener Planet

The Publishing Accelerator 2030 White Paper sets out to improve the environmental friendliness of the publishing industry by addressing its challenges regarding sustainability and boosting supply chain efficiency. This White Paper focuses on the potential of a Distributed Book Printing Network to revolutionize the industry's environmental and operational footprint.

Key Insights:

Context: Despite digital advancements, printed books remain popular, but their traditional production and distribution model is criticized for its negative impact on the environment, with excessive emissions, overproduction, and waste as primary concerns.
Distributed Book Printing Network: This model champions decentralized, on-demand book production closer to consumers, reducing long-distance shipping, emissions, and warehousing needs.
Key Features: Secure digital file transfers, localized printing facilities, and collaborative middleware platforms to create a seamless, global connection between publishers and printers.
Streams:
- Workstream One: Investigates methods for calculating and communicating a book's carbon footprint.
- Workstream Two (project's main focus): Explores the implementation of a global distributed printing system to decrease carbon emissions and improve market agility.
- Workstream Three: Rethinks cost and emission metrics to prioritize lifecycle efficiency over per-unit costs.
Benefits:
- Lowers carbon emissions and waste.
- Boosts flexibility, scalability, and reach for publishers.
- Promotes sustainability with local production and decreased overstock risks.
Challenges:
- Global standards and middleware integration.
- Stable partnerships with local print providers.
- Navigating administrative and logistical complexities.
Path Forward:
- Test middleware technologies and conduct surveys with stakeholders.
- Developing standards for network participation.
- Engaging in industry-wide discussions to refine and scale the model.

The initiative aligns with global sustainability objectives such as the UN's climate aims and emphasizes collaboration across publishers, technology providers, and service networks to drive worldwide change.

A Proud Moment for our Platform

At our platform, we're proud as punch to have played a part in this award-winning initiative. This experience has solidified our belief in the power of cooperation and the importance of sustainability.

The connections we forged, the wisdom we shared, and the knowledge we gathered will continue to guide our work as we strive to create a greener, more accessible future for the publishing world.

A big shout out to Canon, Jörg Engelstädter, and all the collaborators for this gigantic achievement. Together, we've taken a momentous step toward a greener future for the publishing industry.

*Give the Whitepaper a Read*

Let's keep collaborating, innovating, and making a difference-one book at a time.

The Future Book Forum, organized by Canon and Jörg Engelstädter, is an annual gathering discussing the future of publishing, innovation, trends, and challenges in the industry.
Sustainability has become a major focus at the Future Book Forum, serving as a stage for game-changing initiatives like Canon's award-winning project.
Canon's project involves a diverse team, including our platform, which brings insights from digital publishing and focuses on providing data-driven strategies for reducing carbon emissions.
The Publishing Accelerator 2030 White Paper aims to improve the environmental friendliness of the publishing industry, addressing challenges regarding sustainability and boosting supply chain efficiency.
This White Paper proposes a Distributed Book Printing Network, which champions decentralized, on-demand book production closer to consumers, reducing emissions and waste.
Collaborative projects like Canon's sustainability project are crucial, as they merge specialists of every niche and yield comprehensive, practical solutions for challenges like sustainability.
The Canon project serves as a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and the importance of sustainability in reshaping the publishing industry for a greener future.