Ensuring a Sustainable Future for the Book Business
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) announced today that its Annual Meeting of Members will be held online on Friday, April 23, 2021. The theme of the meeting is “Ensuring a Sustainable Future for the Book Business”.
The content and conversations will explore different ways that the book industry supply chain is addressing matters of sustainability. In addition, a portion of the meeting will present BISG’s FY2022 budget and ask BISG’s members to approve a new slate of candidates for the organization’s board of directors.
Sherri Aldis, Chief of UN Publications at the United Nations, will deliver an opening keynote, “Publishing for a Sustainable Future,” which will describe opportunities for book publishing as part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Aldis will also address how book publishers and partners can commit to specific actions to ensure that environmentally sound business practices are established and followed.
Brian O’Leary, Executive Director of BISG, said, “Sustainability may be the most critical topic for us today, from carbon footprints to the environment, to serving new audiences with accessible content, to being strategic about where we work, how we work, and who we work with.”
BISG’s Annual Meeting of Members will include sessions on:
- Sustainability in Practice: The Green Book Alliance
- Futureproofing Your Staff: Sustainability from an HR Perspective
- Inclusivity and Accessibility of Digital Content: Organizing Content to Serve Wider Markets
- Top Ten Operational Efficiencies for Every Organization
- Innovations in Paper, Ink, and Process
- Presentation of the 2021 Lifetime Service Award Award, Industry Champion Award, and Industry Innovator Award
BISG board chair Andrew Savikas added, “Though we wish we could meet in person, we expect that holding the Annual Meeting online will enable more colleagues from across geographies and across the supply chain—both members and non-members—to join us for a few hours of important and illuminating content. BISG has tailored the event specifically for Zoom, with shortened sessions, periodic breaks, and a few surprises.”
A diverse roster of professionals has been invited to speak to the broad spectrum of BISG’s membership: traditional and digital publishers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, service and technology partners, bricks-and-mortar and online retailers, local and regional library systems, trade associations, consultancies, and entrepreneurs.
BISG’s Annual Meeting of Members will have closed captioning available. All are welcome.
Registration opens today, with a draft agenda available now on the BISG website. The full agenda and roster of speakers for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Members will be announced shortly.