Book Industry Environmental Council

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Book Industry Environmental Council?
The Book Industry Environmental Council is a group of more than 30 publishers, printers, paper suppliers and nonprofit organizations that are collaborating to set environmental goals and minimize the industry’s impact on the environment.

Who Participates in the Council?
Click here to see a list of participants.

What does the BIEC do?
At its inaugural meeting in June of 2008, the BIEC established 3 priority areas.

Since that time, subcommittees have developed proposals for each of the above priority areas, all of which were passed with majority votes by the full council. The members of the BIEC are now working to implement the approved proposals.

How is the council structured?
The council is coordinated by the Green Press Initiative and the Book Industry Study Group, and and is chaired by Pete Datos of Hachette Book Group. Each of the council’s 3 priority areas has a dedicated subcommittee which developed proposals to be approved by the full council.

How does the BIEC make decisions?
Proposals from the subcommittees require a majority vote to be passed by the full council. If necessary, decisions at the subcommittee level are also determined by a majority vote of committee members, however decisions at the committee level are usually reached by building a consensus.

A member company or organization is permitted to have multiple representatives participate in BIEC meetings however each company/organization only receives one vote regardless of the number of representatives.

How were member companies/organizations chosen to participate in the BIEC?
Initial meetings of the BIEC were open to any company or organization in the book industry that wanted to participate. The coordinating organizations (Green Press Initiative and Book Industry Study Group) reached out to potentially interested parties directly and indirectly through other means including newsletters, announcements at trade shows, and an advertisement in Publishers Weekly.