If you didn’t hear yet about Zumbox, you need to recheck your news resources.

In the last couple of weeks you hear about them everywhere - from an announcement on two new clients: the cities of San Francisco and Newark (NJ) that will start using their web-based mail delivery system to an announcement on a partnership with New York City for Five Borough Pilot Program.

So what is exactly Zumbox? according to their website “Zumbox delivers paperless mail online – from street address to street address. What used to only be sent as paper mail can now be sent without the paper. How? We’ve created a nationwide paperless postal system with a Zumbox for every street address in the United States, including yours.”

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On August 19 Cleantech Group published a report that was supposed to put an end to an ongoing debate on the question if the Kindle and other e-readers are actually greener than physical books. The release’s title was “E-readers a win for carbon emissions.”

It was supposed to be the life cycle analysis many people, including myself were waiting for. I have to admit I was very excited to read about it as we follow this debate for a long time. I decided to read it and see if this is really it. If it’s really over.

The report, entitled ‘The Environmental Impact of Amazon’s Kindle’ was written by senior reporter Emma Ritch. I read the executive brief (7-page long) and was happy to find a well-written analysis that integrates many pieces of information that together create a more coherent picture. At the same time I wasn’t that sure about the validity of the findings.

There were two main issues that bothered me mostly: the carbon footprint of a single Kindle and the assumption about the number of e-books the average user is reading. As you’ll see these are important factors in the analysis and have significant influence on the findings.

Here are my thoughts about them in more details:

1. What’s the carbon footprint of a single Kindle?

This is an important part of the analysis - you can’t have a comparison between physical books and the Kindle without this figure. But fortunately the report has it: “…the second-generation Kindle represents the same emissions as 15 books bought in person or 30 purchased online. That would yield a range of between 60.2 to 306 kg of CO2, or an average of 167.78 kg of CO2 during its lifespan.”

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“Where the Buttercups Grow” is a great children’s book, and we’re not saying it just because we’re collaborating with the publisher, Aaspirations Publishing, to plant a tree for every copy sold, but because we really think so, and that’s also the feedback we got from couple of kids in the Eco-Libris family we asked to check it out.

This book is beautifully written by Shelley Meyer and vividly illustrated by her daughter Tessa Meyer (in the photo above at the first book launch in Surrey).

Here’s the short version of what this book is about (the longer version can be found here):

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As part of our efforts to promote green printing, we continue to closely follow the printing industry, keep you posted with printers who have already adopted eco-friendly practices in their business and speak with them on the state of green printing, the trends, the challenges in the present and their plans for the future.

We posted already two interviews with green printers (Greg Barber and Deb Bruner) and today we are happy to have another green printer on our blog: Livio Ciciotti of Monroe Litho (Rochester, NY).

Livio Ciciotti is an Account Executive with Monroe Litho based in Rochester, NY. He is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Print Media. He has been invloved in printing since high school. Livio is also in the Marine Corps Reserve, an honor graduate from the School of Infantry he now serves with 3rd Battalion 25th Marines out of Buffalo, NY and is preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan.

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The added value of going green is constantly growing. According to a survey conducted lately, 46% of consumers say they would shop at a retailer more if it was environmentally friendly. Another study of Mintel shows 62% of customers choose a restaurant based on their commitment to the environment.

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This post was originally posted on Eco-Libris blog on June 1st.

Soccer is a great game and I used to play it every day when I was a kid. I love the game and therefore I enjoyed every page of our book today that got its inspiration from the (littered) soccer fields and is written by a soccer coach.

Our book today is:

20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth

Author: Coach Pedro and Susan Adam-Rita

Amarildo Pedro Rita was born in 1962 and has been playing high level soccer in Brazil and has being coaching youth soccer players in the United States since 1999. Currently he is the Director of Developmental Soccer Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan and author of The Magic Soccer Ball series plus The Boy and His Dream, A Great Soccer Tournament, and 20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth. Coach Pedro holds a bachelor degree in physical education and USSF “A” License

Susan Adam-Rita was born in a small city in Brazil where she lived for twenty-seven years. A psychologist in her home country, she continued to pursue her studies and currently is a PHD candidate in the counselor education program at Wayne State University. Susan lives with her husband, Pedro, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Illustrator: Murilo Pruner

Ages: 4 - 8

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published on: December 2008

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“Sammy and Sue Go Green Too!” is not only a great children’s book, but also a very inspirational one both for kids and their parents.

If you had a chance to read our review of the book you probably know already that a) this book is about a joint mother-daughter journey into the green world and b) Eco-Libris collaborates with the publisher, Beaufort Books, and the author, Suzanne Corso, to encourage the readers of this wonderful book to green up their reading and take a step to support the environment by planting a tree with us for their copy.

The book is already receiving enthusiastic feedback and endorsements. On March it was selected as Book of the Year by NWYA’s NY Reads Program, which is a program of New York Women’s Agenda (NWYA), a city-wide book discussion based on the reading of one book selected each year.

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I love bears. Polar, Panda, Brown - you name it. Therefore I was immediately was fond of our books this week - a children’s book that takes place in a little bears’ heaven and where the main characters are bears (and very funny ones!).

Our book this week is:

The Legend of Honey Hollow

We mentioned it firstly last month when we announced on a collaboration with the author who plant a tree for every book sold on her signing events and provides buyers of the book with our sticker (made of recycled paper), saying: “One tree planted for this book”.

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Happy Earth Day everyone!

We wanted to write a special post for Earth Day and fortunately we have great news to report: The Book Industry Environmental Council announced last week it has set goals for cutting the U.S. book industry’s greenhouse gas emissions in 20% by 2020 (from a 2006 baseline) with the intent of achieving an 80% reduction by 2050.

This is very exciting news and as the Council pointed out in its press release, this industry-wide commitment is a global first in publishing and hence has tremendous importance.

Because of the importance of this move and its implications for the book industry, we thought it’s important to take closer look at it and analyze it from strategic and operational points of view. Hopefully later on we’ll also bring you an interview with one of the Council’s leaders.

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This week we have a very unique book that suits perfectly not only the upcoming Earth Day but also Passover, the Jewish holiday that we’re celebrating this month.

Our book for today is:

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales

As we mentioned yesterday, in celebration of Earth Day, Barefoot Books are working together with Eco-Libris this April to plant a tree for every copy sold of this book!

Author: Dawn Casey

Dawn Casey has always been passionate about traditional tales, believing that folklore can help answer some of the toughest questions about humankind. This is Dawn s second project with Barefoot Books, following The Great Race (2006). Dawn combines writing with a career as a primary school teacher. She and her family live in East Sussex, England.

Illustrator: Anne Wilson

Anne Wilson gains much of her inspiration and sense of color from her travels. She has an MA in illustration from St. Martin’s College of Art, London, and has been illustrating children’s books for several years. This is Anne’s fourth project for Barefoot Books, following Storytime (2005), The Great Race (2006) and We’re Sailing Down the Nile (2007). Anne live s in Reading, England, with her husband and daughters.

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Green buildings have never been so popular, at least when it comes to public policy. Looking at the stimulus plan you see how a concept that until lately was relatively marginal suddenly becomes a significant policy tool, which is expected to stimulate the economy, lower energy consumption, create jobs and support the environment, all the same time.

But what does a green building or a green home actually means? well, for most of us it would be difficult to get into specifics as so few had the chance to experience it personally, but for Avrim and Vicki Topel know the answers.

They have built a green home (LEED Silver Certified) at Kennett Square, PA and they’re sharing their story in a new book entitled “Green Beginnings: The Story of How We Built Our Green & Sustainable Home“. This book is a valuable book for anyone interested in going green or building a green home. It is also part of a greater effort of the Topel’s experience to share their experience with others, which includes tours in the house and a documentary video. And last but not least, as we reported earlier, Eco-Libris is collaborating with the authors to plant trees for the copies sold of the book.

As we wanted to learn more about the authors’ experience and their book, we asked Avrim Topel to join us for an interview.

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We’re constantly talking about the need of the book industry to increase its efforts to lower its environmental impacts and adopt greener practices. At the same time, we try to do a reality check every couple of months and learn from those who actually print the books how things are doing.

Last January we had an interview with Greg Barber of Greg Barber Company, who shared with us insights on what it means to be a green printer. Today we have the pleasure to host another experienced green printer, Deb Bruner of Pinnacle Press.

Deb Bruner serves in Pinnacle Press as director of book publishing and eco-friendly initiatives. She has more than 25 years experience in the publishing, paper and printing industries. Prior to Pinnacle, Bruner worked as the director of book publishing papers for New Leaf Paper, the environmentally friendly paper merchant, where she managed mill relationships and developed sales opportunities.

As you can see, Bruner has a vast experience with a specific focus on green printing, so we decided there’s no better person to get our current update from. We also wanted to learn more about Pinnacle Press of St. Louis, MO, which is well-known for its quality services and commitment to the environment.

We hope you will enjoy this opportunity to learn what’s going on in one of the major fronts of the book industry - the printing machines.

Hello, Deb. Could you describe please Pinnacle’s efforts to go green?

Pinnacle Press was the first book component printer to start stocking a recycled sheet for book jackets at price parity with virgin stock. We started doing this back around 2002 or 2003 due to customer demand from the university press community; presses like Cornell University Press wanted a recycled coated sheet for book jackets to help them meet their recycled paper commitments to Green Press Initiative.

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How green is your toilet paper? Not sure? Here’s the guide that will give you the answers: Greenpeace has just released on Monday its latest Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide.

The report is providing customers with important information about tissue products and toilet paper using 3 criteria: usage of 100% recycled paper, at least 50% post consumer recycled paper and bleached without toxic chlorine compounds.

Each category includes ranking of brands, where products that meet 3 criteria are recommended, products that meet 2 criteria are defined as “can do better” and products that meet only one or no criteria at all are “to be avoided”.

Let’s focus for a minute on toilet paper, the most popular product among the ones reviewed in this report. The brand in the first place is Green Forest, which uses 100 percent recycled and 90 percent post-consumer content, as well as chlorine-free manufacturing processes. Other brands that are also recommended are: 365, Natural Value and Seventh Generation.

And who’s to be avoided? Well, when it comes to toilet paper you will find there few familiar names: Scott, Target, Wal-Mart, Kleenex Cottonelle, Chramin, Quilted Northern and Angel Soft. According to the report they all use zero recycled paper (and of course zero post consumer content) and are bleached with chlorine compounds [just take into consideration the follwoing comment from Greenpeace: In the few cases where companies did not respond to our request for verification of recycled content percentages and whitening processes used, we assumed 0% overall recycled, 0% post-consumer recycled and ECF bleaching.]

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We’re covering all the Little Green Books and today we have the pleasure to present you with a book with the most optimistic and positive name you can think about.

Our book for today is:

I Can Save the Earth!

Author: Alison Inches

Illustrated by: Viviana Garofoli

Ages: 4 - 6

Description: Meet Max the Little Monster. He is a cute, furry green monster who is an environmental nightmare. Among other things, he leaves on all the lights, keeps his computer plugged in, blasts the TV, hoards his old toys and uses so much toilet paper it clogs the toilet until finally, his excessive ways cause a power outage.

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“My name is Greg Barber and I specialize in environmental printing. “ This is the first line on the homepage of Greg Barber Company, an eco-friendly printer and also the printer that prints Eco-Libris’ stickers and flyers.

Greg is also one of the most experienced people in the area of green printing and we thought it would be very interesting to hear from him what does it mean to be an environmental printer and what’s going on in this market. We weren’t wrong. This interview is a great opportunity to get a glance of the growing market of environmental printing, which as you will see is becoming not only beneficial for the environment, but also for businesses’ bottom line.

Hello Greg. You describe yourself as an environmental printer. Can you tell us what that means?

We are eco-friendly in our paper, inks, energy and our recycling of our waste. We specialize in printing on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, rock paper, and tree free paper ,and we use soy based inks, for our offset printing, and 100% non toxic toner for our digital work. Our energy is primarily Wind energy, and the paper we stock comes from mills that get their energy from either Wind or BioGas.
How long have you been an environmental printer? how did you get into the business of eco-friendly printing?

I started at the 20th anniversary of Earth Day in 1990. I saw middle school children celebrating Earth Day and I decided to join them by specializing in Environmental Printing.

Is it true that it’s more expensive to print on recycled paper? if it is, what’s the premium you currently need to pay for it?

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The holiday season has just begun and if you already start thinking about gifts, we hope you think about books. A good book is always a great gift! So how about a green-themed book that is both interesting/fun/valuable (or all at once) and affordable?

To help you find the best green books to give as gifts this holiday season, Eco-Libris blog is continuing the tradition we started last year and presenting a new holiday guide. This year we have a very special guide with recommendations from people who are involved in the green economy, or as we call it “The Green Collar Holiday Gift Guide for Book Lovers.”

The guide includes 50 recommendations of great green-themed books that will be a good fit as holiday gifts. As you will see the guide is not only about the books, but also about the people who recommend it. We tried to personalize the guide as much as possible so we will learn not only about green books but also about the people who carry the green economy on their shoulders.

Therefore with each recommendation you will find a personal angle that presents the recommender, his workplace and/or why they chose that specific book to recommend on.

We will bring you the guide in five parts that will be published in the next 10 days, starting today. Enjoy!

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I love to read good books about green business and when it’s a book written by one of the people whom I consider to be one of my “green biz” teachers, it is a real delight!

Our book today on Monday’s green books series is:

Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the New World of Business by Joel Makower and Cara Pike

In the last couple of years I have read Joel Makower’s blog Two Steps Forward on regular basis and it became one of my best resources to learn and better understand the green economy. I see in Joel one of the best teachers I had (and still have) in the complex world of green economy and therefore I was very excited to hear about his new book. And I wasn’t wrong.he green market from the consumer perspective and tries to make some logic in all the information we’re constantly fed with about the green consumers - from the surveys we hear about all the time about the green preferences of consumers to the many definitions of green market (LOHAS, greenback greens, cultural creatives, etc.).‘Strategies for the Green Economy’ doesn’t have all the answers and leaves you with some questions that only time might gives you the answers on, like “how green is good enough”?, but it gives you plenty of information and tools (including the Ecological Roadmap of Cara Pike that is brought at the end of the book and includes valuable data on people’s environmental values) to figure out what green business is all about.

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Last September we announced on our collaboration with Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing in an educational contest - I CAN SAVE THE EARTH!. This was in a celebration of their new line of eco-friendly children’s books, Little Green Books.

During the time of the contest (you can participate until December 1st, 2008 - see more details here) we review the first four books that were published so far. So far we reviewed Little Monkey and Little Panda, and today we have the pleasure to present you with the third green little book.

Our book for today is: The Polar Bears’ Home: A Story About Global Warming

Author: Lara Bergen

Illustrated by: Vincent Nguyen

Ages: 4 - 6

Description: Come along on an Arctic adventure with a little girl and her father and learn all about polar bears! This 8 x 8 storybook shows how global warming affects two baby polar bear cubs and their family. Includes tips for kids on what they can do to help slow down global warming. This 8 x 8 paperback book is perfect-bound and will be printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper with soy-ink. The paper is FSC certified.

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We’re back with our beloved Monday’s green books series, and today we’re celebrating! Our book today is:

“Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations & Traditions for the Whole Family” by Corey Colwell-Lipson & Lynn Colwell

Few weeks ago we announced here on our collaboration with the authors (buyers of the book on the Celebrate Green! website are offered to plant a tree with their copy of Celebrate Green!) and today we’re happy to review the book and to give away one copy of it.

I read quite a few guides for green living in the last year or so, but this is the first guide I know that is focused on holidays and celebrations. Why? the authors explain: “the reason it’s important to green up our celebrations is that holidays and special days are plentiful…holidays and special days don’t happen on one day only in one place; they occur throughout the year in homes, schools, and places of work across the globe.” (p. 20)

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Bill Roth is the author of the new and important book “On Empty (Out of Time)“, which readers have described as “America’s final “wake-up call”" and “A must read if you want freedom from high pump prices!”.

We reviewed the book at the beginning of the month and I felt afterwards that this issue is way too important and requires an interview with the author to learn more about his views and thoughts on the energy issues we’re facing.

Firstly here’s a little background of the author (see also photo below): Bill Roth has a solid experience in the energy sector, with a career that included posts such as senior VP of marketing and sales with PG&E Energy Services and COO of Texaco Ovonics Hydrogen Solutions. Currently he is the President of NCCT, a San Francisco-based consulting firm helping businesses define and integrate Sustainability into their strategies, performance metrics, branding/marketing and business processes.. He is also Entrepreneur.com’s Green Business Coach.

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