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 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 Kurt Andrews of Melcher Media is the Executive Diector. Each of the council’s priority areas has a dedicated subcommittee which developed proposals to be approved by the full council.

How does the BIEC make decisions?
As is detailed in the bylaws of the BIEC, proposals from the subcommittees require a majority vote from each of three voting blocks (publishers, supply chain and other companies/organization) or a 2/3 majority of all members. If necessary, decisions at the subcommittee level 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 (formerly the co-coordinator) reached out to potentially interested parties directly and indirectly through other means including newsletters, announcements at trade shows, and an advertisement in Publishers Weekly.

How can new members join the BIEC?
Prospective members must complete an application which is available here.
To become a member of the BIEC a company or organization must…

Complete a membership application
Agree in writing to accept and act in conformance with the Mission Statement of the BIEC
Maintain active participation in calls, meetings and BIEC sponsored events
Pay and stay current with applicable annual membership dues
Agree in writing to lawful, cooperative collaboration within anti-trust guidelines
Gain approval for membership by the BIEC Executive Committee

Membership is granted after Eexcutive Committee approval of a membership application and receipt of annual membership dues. All new memberships shall be granted upon a majority vote of the Executive Committee and is subject to sector constituency balance.