Inkjet & Digital Printing
Canon Future Book Forum 2022: The modern publishing industry in the sustainability discussion
Thursday 02. June 2022 - The topic of this years event in the Customer Experience Centre at Canons production site: new ways to sustainable and profitable growth. Those who missed the event can find a recording of the best contributions on Canons website.
On 4 and 5 May, leading publishers, book producers, retailers and industry representatives from all over Europe met in Poing near Munich for the Canon Future Book Forum.
In its ninth year of existence, the organisers of the Future Book Forum have succeeded in bringing together representatives from all areas of the publishing value chain. Live presentations, workshops and networking opportunities met with a great response, because after two years of “abstinence” due to the pandemic, personal exchange was a great need for all participants.
Asked about the recipe for success of the Future Book Forum 2022, Peter Wolff, European Production, Direct Sales Vice President at Canon EMEA, said: “With the impressive range of participants and presenters, we received excellent feedback from this year’s attendees. They clearly benefited from the face-to-face interaction and left the event with many new ideas on how they can adopt more sustainable practices in their own businesses to make them not only greener and more socially responsible, but also more profitable.” The event was moderated by thought leader, author and futurist Peter Fisk.
Future Book Forum 2022’s keynote addresses on sustainability were delivered by a range of experts from the publishing, marketing and consumer goods industries
– Matthias Rippel, Vice President Global Brand Strategy, Adidas, gave an inspiring speech in which he pointed out the similarities between the publishing industry and the leading sports brand: both have the power to change lives and improve their communities. He gave insights into how the Adidas brand is putting sustainability at the heart of its growth strategy, with examples of how this is being put into practice.
– Jemima Cox, Head of Social Sciences at strategy consultancy Canvas8, discussed changing consumer attitudes towards sustainability and explored the opportunities this presents for businesses. She presented research findings on consumer behaviour and gave recommendations on how the publishing industry can make the necessary changes a reality.
– Richard Charkin, publisher and former president of the International Publishers Association, presented how the publishing industry needs to rethink its supply chains, business models and accounting practices to become more sustainable and profitable. He looks in depth at the issue of digitisation and how print-on-demand can be used to improve the sustainability of the publishing industry.
– Also worth watching is the video case study on Elanders, a global Swedish company specialising in packaging printing and publishing, which switched from offset to digital printing to produce large quantities of shorter runs. This has made production much more cost-effective and sustainable.
The second day of the event was opened by Peter Kraus vom Cleff, Managing Director of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels) and President of the European Publishers Federation (FEP), who emphasised the importance of cooperation within the publishing industry to drive sustainability. He also spoke about how the industry needs to redefine growth and rethink its practices. Considering that one in eight books purchased in bookstores is returned, he pointed out that the industry needs to work together to make the entire supply chain more sustainable.
Inspired by the presentations and speeches, a lively exchange on sustainability as a key factor for profitable growth emerged in round-table discussions. Ideas were developed to pave the way for the publishing industry’s future success.
The event concluded with a thought-provoking talk by Andy Hunter, CEO and founder of Bookshop.org. He challenged the audience to collaborate more, expand their reach and rethink their best business practices. In his passionate speech, he spoke about his vision for a healthy and sustainable publishing industry. He emphasised the growth opportunities of sustainable business models, the need for the industry to share success, and recognising the importance of each player in the publishing ecosystem.