Highlights from the GBA’s meeting at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026
This year at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Green Book Alliance welcomed 29 global supply chain partners for project updates and a series of focused discussions designed to gauge the sector’s evolving sustainability priorities and identify areas of shared focus and opportunity.
GBA Book Carbon Calculator
We were pleased to provide an update on the GBA’s award-winning Book Carbon Calculator, having launched the project just three months earlier. At the time of the Frankfurt Book Fair, we reported 187 users from 18 countries—far exceeding our goal of 100 users in the first year. We took some time to reflect on initial user feedback and discuss what an improved/modified version might look like. Since the June launch, we’ve hosted four webinars to help support new users and have created an instructional video that walks users through the process step-by-step.
What We Heard
Participants were eager for the GBA to pursue future improvements and upgrades to the Book Carbon Calculator. They expressed interest in:
adding support for additional print production features
narrowing in on more geographic specificity by supporting emissions factors for a wider, global user base
expanding documentation to comprehensively represent methodology for the most engaged users
enhancing the user interface to anticipate where users will most need support and resources
exploring targeted partnerships with like-minded organizations to drive user adoption, engagement, and understanding
GBA Supporter Program
GBA provides all of its resources, including access to the Book Carbon Calculator, free of charge. However, maintaining and developing these tools comes with significant operational costs. Our work is fully funded by our supporters—partners that believe in this mission. GBA expenses include project management, software licensing, development, and maintenance, as well as communication and administrative expenses.
The Book Carbon Calculator will require continuous investment to meet evolving user needs and improve accuracy over time. Planned upgrades to Version 1 are estimated to cost $40K CAN ($28K USD, £22K GBP).
This fall, GBA is launching a Supporter Program that will enable mission-aligned organizations to provide ongoing support for our work. GBA supporters will be recognized as a champion of the sustainable publishing movement and active contributors to industry-wide progress. We invite all book industry organizations to join us and help shape the future of sustainable publishing.
What We Heard
Attendees expressed appreciation for the work of the GBA and an understanding that we need sector support to grow our efforts. There was enthusiasm for the launch of our supporter program, and several organizations expressed an interest in deepening their involvement with the Green Book Alliance.
Digital book carbon calculation
The second session of our meeting focused on the future of sustainability. Here, we tested the waters with an early conversation about digital book carbon calculation.
Unlike print books, where much of the carbon footprint comes from production and distribution, a significant portion of a digital book’s carbon footprint occurs after production, once it is in the hands of the consumer. We had an energetic exchange about what we might need to measure if we calculate the carbon emissions of a digital book, including the country in which the eBook is downloaded, where and how the eBook is stored, the electrical consumption of the reading device, and even the average time it takes to read the book!
What We Heard
Attendees communicated that their current priority is improving the accuracy of their print calculations. Digital calculation is something that is of interest in the future—but not just yet. There was discussion about whether it’s the publisher’s responsibility to measure post-production emissions that are out of their control, such as device use and reading time. When the time comes for GBA to pursue a digital calculator, the group felt that a strong first step would be to research how other industries are calculating their digital footprint.
Future priorities for the GBA
Finally, we wrapped up our event by asking attendees for some feedback on the work of the GBA. We posed questions like “What work do you want to see prioritized from GBA?”, “What else could GBA be doing to support a more sustainable book industry?”, and “What aspects of our current work have delivered the greatest value to you or your organization?”. The discussions highlighted a strong desire to invest in the tools, data, and collaborative knowledge needed to accelerate sustainability progress.
What We Heard
Participants highlighted the unique value of alignment with the GBA—being part of a truly global initiative. Discussions reflected a strong appetite for deeper global collaboration and for sharing ideas, events, and opportunities that can accelerate sustainability progress worldwide.
For questions about the Green Book Alliance or to get involved, reach out at info@greenbookalliance.org.
Post-event resources
GBA Book Carbon Calculator
Are you interested in learning more about the GBA's award-winning Book Carbon Calculator? See it in action with a demonstration from Product Manager, Jarin Pintana:
BIC's Designed for Recycling Part 3: Manufactured Book to End-of-Life
What happens to packaging once a book leaves the binding line?
BIC’s Designed for Recycling, Part 3: Manufactured Book to End-of-Life follows the journey through distribution, warehousing, and returns, right through to end-of-life, building a clearer picture of how packaging is used across the book supply chain.
The findings reveal encouraging progress, some persistent challenges, and opportunities for further innovation and collaboration.
The report is currently available to BIC members and will be made available to non-BIC members in early 2027. BIC members can request the report by emailing: info@bic.org.uk.
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