The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has reinforced actions to promote organic publishing in the General State Administration (AGE) with the aim of incorporating environmental and social criteria in the process of preparing official publications, which allow minimizing the negative impacts derived from this activity in all its phases and processes.
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has reinforced actions to promote organic publishing in the General State Administration (AGE) with the aim of incorporating environmental and social criteria in the process of preparing official publications, which allow minimizing the negative impacts derived from this activity in all its phases and processes.
In this framework, the first Conference on Eco-publishing in the General State Administration was held today, jointly organized by the ministry and the Biodiversity Foundation. This meeting, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, is part of the actions of the Interministerial Working Group for the promotion of eco-publishing and green public procurement in the field of official publications coordinated by MITECO with the support of the Secretariat of the Coordination Board of Official Publications.
The inauguration of the conference was attended by the Undersecretary for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Miguel González Suela; the director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Elena Pita, as well as the deputy director general of Publications, Documentation and Archive and secretary of the Coordination Board of Official Publications of the Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory, Isabel Barrio Martín.
During the meeting, which was attended by more than 60 professionals from the sector, updated information was offered on factors, processes and recognition mechanisms involved in organic publishing with the aim of providing a common base of references applicable to a more homogeneous, efficient and sustainable editorial work in the AGE as a whole.
Among the speakers were representatives of companies from the different sectors involved in the publishing process, as well as staff from the AGE.
Specifically, the first two panels focused on the elements and processes of eco-publishing and included specialists from both the public and private sectors in the publishing sector, mainly professionals in paper and other products.
The day concluded with a round table focused on sustainability certificates and recognitions in eco-publishing. In addition, tools for the generation of ecolabels in paper publications have been presented.
NEW ECO-PUBLISHING MANUAL
Environmental impacts due to publishing activity appear throughout the entire life cycle of publications. From the beginning of the raw material extraction process, water, energy and materials are consumed, and solid emissions and pollutants are released. Eco-publishing is committed to the adoption of the best available techniques and environmental practices at all stages of the process, from obtaining raw materials, product design, printed materialization, distribution, and shelf life.
Eco-publishing seeks to improve the environmental and social performance of the public publishing sector, establishing objective and comparable concepts and procedures.
To respond to this need, MITECO, through the Undersecretariat for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, and together with the Biodiversity Foundation, is preparing a new eco-publishing manual, which will establish a basis for the preparation of official publications in accordance with environmental criteria, within the framework of the provisions of the Ecological Public Procurement Plan (2018-2025).
This meeting is also part of the actions of the work programme “Changing lifestyles to recover nature”, developed by the Biodiversity Foundation, with the aim of promoting more sustainable lifestyles and consumption, which promote the conservation and recovery of biodiversity and improve the health and well-being of citizens.
