01/12/2008 - A new OECD book on sustainable development will practice what it preaches by using innovative low-carbon publishing technology for sales in far-flung global markets.

As part of its worldwide launch on 2 December 2008,  will be printed and sold in an Australian bookshop, using one of Time magazine’s Inventions of the Year - the Espresso Book Machine from On Demand Books.

Aimed at a broad reading public, the book gives an easily accessible introduction to what lies beneath the label of sustainable development.  It presents data, analysis and policy approaches, plus suggestions for practical action as part of a package to promote sustainable economic growth while at the same time respecting the environment. In choosing the Espresso Book Machine to launch the book, OECD is taking advantage of technology to go beyond standard publishing practice.  Normally, books are printed in one place, shipped worldwide to distributors and then forwarded to booksellers, generating a significant carbon footprint.  Espresso Book Machines will print ‘OECD Insights: Sustainable Development’ for sale on site, as needed in locations in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Egypt, as well as in Australia.

Interview with Candice Stevens about OECD Insights: Sustainable Development

OECD Insights: Sustainable Development will still be published using traditional methods in markets where the new technology is not yet installed.  As technology progresses, however, more OECD books are expected to be printed for local sale in this way.

“New technology is transforming the publishing industry, giving us the opportunity to reduce significantly our carbon footprint and improve delivery times for customers," Toby Green, Head of Publishing at OECD, said. “Using this approach, publishing can become a “just-in-time” business that is both economically more efficient and friendlier to the environment.  Each of the books printed and sold through the Angus & Robertson bookshop in Melbourne, for example, will save 5.8kg in carbon emissions.”

For further information journalists are invited to contact Toby Green, head of Publishing at the OECD (telephone: +33 1 45 24 94 15).

 

OECD Insights: Sustainable Development - ISBN 9789264047785.

 

www.oecd.org/insights

 

www.ondemandbooks.com