We know that the road from where the products we consume are generated to our home, from an environmental point of view, is often not sustainable. We have organic products in food and clothing, there are programs to reduce damage to household appliances and we are advised to use public transport or bicycle instead of going by car. But do we know what the path of the book we are reading has been like before we reach our hands? Do we know how much their generation and transport has polluted?

Twelve years ago, members of the editorial Pol·len devoted themselves to investigating the ecological footprint of a book, the result of which is extracted the concept and the eco-edition project. Before the creation of the editorial there was a printing press in Barcelona: El Tinter Cooperative. An Environmental Sciences student carried out the final degree work there on the environmental impact of the generated products. The members of the cooperative did not think they contaminated, but the result was different: “You are dirty and the worst thing is that you don’t realize it.” This was deducted by the student, according to Jordi Panyella, a member of Pol·len.

“In the printing press we put in place an environmental management system to analyse the damage we caused. In 2011 we created Pol·len to test what we could do paper publications to minimize pollution and in 2015 we closed the printing press.” Pol·len received a European subsidy to investigate the book's life cycle, from raw materials to completion. It was concluded that the greatest impact occurs in the extraction of raw materials, 49.4%, followed by the processes of production of printing sheets (17.6%), distribution (16.4%) and design (9.6%).

With this data, the environmental calculator was created in 2012 to calculate the impact of a publication. In parallel, the editorial Comanegra also created the local llibre seal to indicate that the publishers elaborated their products with local media. In 2022, the Institute of Eco-Publishing (Institut de l’Ecoedició) was created in Catalonia, “with the intention of joining efforts in favor of the ecological book,” according to the director of the institute Laia Figueres. It is a service cooperative focused mainly on the publishing sector. “Our goal is to continue researching why eco-publishing is a living concept.” In addition, they provide resources to the actors of the sector to take into account the environmental aspect in their decisiones.El Institute set at twelve points the twelve criteria that the eco-edition should meet based on the analysis of the book life cycle: local production; use of recycled

paper
or FSC certificate; calculation of the carbon footprint and communication of the result; use of eco-design; assurance of environmental management by the actors involved; consideration of the risk

If the first three of these twelve criteria are met, the institute seals the Eco-edited book. But the decision is not made by the institute itself, but by a third agent.

The director of the institute talks about the importance of the first condition: “Local printing is the first condition, since in the study we found that the place where the product is printed and its subsequent trajectory: distribution, travel… Therefore, the publication should be printed in the place where it is distributed. With this we also sought to support the local production

network.” The second criterion concerns paper, using recycled paper or FSC paper. The FSC means Forest Stewardship Council, a non-profit, whose role ensures that the paper used in the production of this product comes from forest trees sostenibles.La third

condition is that each publication must indicate its environmental impact on the product itself for the reader to know. The label indicates the carbon footprint, the waste generated and the consumption of water, energy and raw materials. Communication is a very important element at a time when eco-publishing is becoming known. To Pol·len's colleague, it is important that readers be able to inspect editorial positions. “That’s why we create the ecological backpack; the important thing is not the stamp, but the literacy of the readers in the environment.” In addition, the savings on these five stamp

points
are indicated for a standard publication. This calculation is done through the environmental calculator mentioned at the beginning of the article. The calculator has been updated since its creation, incorporating new variables. It belongs to the Institute of Eco-publishing and allows partners to calculate the environmental impact of a publication before the production of the product. “This tool allows agents to choose the least harmful design. For example, paper measurements,” says Panyella.

Since they began researching, significant changes have been made in two materials: paper and ink. Currently, the role they use in the published papers does not contain chlorine, and in terms of inks, they used inks from minerals, now of plant origin. However, the editorial considers that there is no ecological ink or ecological books. “The green book does not exist, it will always have a negative impact on the environment. On the contrary, culturally influences positively, and that’s why we keep making books.” From Catalonia to other territories the Gaur-gaurkoz

Institute has
21 partners, including ARGIA, most of them from Catalonia, who also collaborate with public institutions such as the Barcelona Council or the Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises. “However, many agents from outside Catalonia have come to us to ask for information,” says the director. They want more publishers and printers to be added in the medium term, “so that more and more publications have the stamp of eco-publishing and become more and more readers aware”.