Chosen in a competition, the SNE’s ‘Chapitres Responsables’ program a carbon-footprint calendar, life-cycle analysis, and training.

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

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A New Effort Among French Publishers in Sustainability

Today in Paris, the French publishers’ association—the Syndicat national de l’édition—has launched what it calls Chapitres Responsables, “Responsible Chapters,” a program with which the publishers intend to strengthen their role in the ecological transition of the publishing sector, starting this year.

Responsible Chapters is a program chosen in a competition, “Alternative Vertes 2,” which was operated by the Banque des Territoires on behalf of the government with the support of the Centre National du Livre, the National Book Center.

The new program has three parts meant to be undertaken this year and in 2026:

• The implementation of a carbon footprint calendar is to be created in the form of a digital platform, allowing publishers to measure the carbon emissions of each work published
• Life-cycle analysis is next, monitoring “the individual trajectory of two printed works and their digital environment, in an attempt to support decision-making and modes by which environmental performance can be improved
• Training is the third part of the program, specifically “the creation of a training tool on environmental issues in the publishing sector, this to be used with staffers in publishing houses with both a digital e-learning component and face-to-face module; special emphasis here is placed on range, in that the SNE is looking to see “all member companies” in the syndicate  served by this program so that small-, medium-, and large-sized groups and corporations have full access and participation

‘Do No Harm’

The SNE, with its 700+ member-publishers in France, in the past has carried out several programs relative to sustainability before the advent of its new Responsible Chapters scheme. These include:

• The publication of an environmental charter for book publishing
• The association’s adherence to the International Publishers Association (IPA) and UN’s Publishers’ Compact, which registers commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• A webinar series called the “Environment Club” for all SNE members

Probably the key element of the France 2030 plan is €54 billion (US$55.6 billion) in investments to support the French nations’ companies and institutions in transitioning to ecologically sound procedures and developments, devoting 50 percent of its spending to “decarbonizing” the economy and 50 percent to emerging, innovative programs “without spending money that is detrimental to the environment, in line with the ‘do no harm’ principle.”

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More from Publishing Perspectives on the French market is here, more on industry statistics is here, and more on ecological and environmental sustainability in world publishing is here. 

Publishing Perspectives is the International Publishers Association’s world media partner.