Publishers at Al Ain Book Festival: Sustainability is an emerging approach in the publishing industry

150 publishers met at the new session of the “Al Ain Book Festival 2023” organized by the Abu Dhabi Center for Arabic Language, under the slogan “Your eyes are wider than the house”, the city will prosper. Knowledge and culture, and its community compete to get the books and publications available to the festival’s patrons.
Sustainability in the UAE is not only a theme for this year, but a need and urgent demand that imposes itself on various sectors to fulfill the role of giving and continuing to ensure that future generations get their share of resources and production. In its various fields, it was necessary to study the opinions of many participating publishers. At the festival on sustainability in the publishing industry, we came up with this conclusion, which includes a common aspect represented by the consensus of publishers in a decisive role. The publishing industry is moving towards increasing electronic publishing to improve sustainability and reduce the consumption of paper, ink and energy required to produce printed books.

The book’s journey with sustainability

Commenting on the issue, publisher Fawaz Al-Mutari, owner of Kahwa Book Publishing Services, said: “The equation of book production and paper selection is based on the publisher’s interest and effort to highlight the character and identity of the house. A solid image for it in the public mind and its publications, and we rely on light paper, which reduces the material of the book, and is consistent with the trend towards sustainability and reducing paper use. Earlier book editions.”

He added: “The publisher receives the text from the author, then the book goes through the printing journey, which depends on many sources that become the focus of sustainability, and this trend begins to manifest itself in the publishing industry. A reasonable limit on the consumption of paper, ink and energy required to produce books, then we can move forward. ” For the role of the reader who can contribute to sustainability through the handling and recycling nature of books, and the sustainability of the demand for reading, this represents the basis of the sustainability of the publishing industry.

Recycled paper

Ahmed Afifi, a publishing expert who has been working in the sector for 20 years and runs the pavilion of the Emirati Book House, believes that sustainability is the key to practical steps that allow publishers and readers to play a fundamental role in sustainability. As there is a demand to buy books that use recycled paper, the practices in the publishing industry begin with a collective solidarity between publishers and readers. It also helps to reduce the weight of the book, thereby reducing shipping costs and the need to use new paper. Adoption of printing with eco-friendly ink, intensifying social awareness of sustainability and encouraging the reading community to support this trend in various ways. Consumption features.

Commitment

According to Amar Medwali, Sales Director of Emirates Kalimat Library House, he believes that the publishing industry has an obligation to maintain sustainability and outperform other sectors, with raw materials closely related to natural resources. The process is not just an industry, but a culture, rooted in aesthetic values ​​and integrating everything that improves the quality of life of communities at the level of thought and practice, and from here the concept of (Green Book) emerged. The publishing industry has begun to implement its application expressions, in the journey towards the sustainability of the stakeholders in the sector, and in response to global environmental challenges, and the integration of the publishing industry at various levels of the book industry.

He added: “The life cycle of a book goes all the way from printing, then distribution, to book consumption, and requires recycling and sustainable use of resources, in addition to increasing openness as part of the e-book. Paper industry’s solution in an effort to reduce resource depletion.”

Achieve balance

During our tour of the Emirates Publishers Association Pavilion, we learned about many of the policies it follows in this field. The publishing industry sees sustainability as an integral responsibility, according to its website, and is committed to this approach. On the one hand it strikes a balance between the needs of the knowledge society and the reading public in producing books.The active role that publishers play in protecting the environment. The association has also identified the need to initiate alternatives and is intensifying research and studies on what the sector can contribute to promote sustainability.